Hearts of Gold
by Always A Witty
Summary: After San Lorenzo, everything should be perfect. However, love isn't always easy. Arnold and Helga will be tested like never before as treasures are lost, devastating secrets are revealed, and true love faces its greatest challenge. But so long as hearts of gold still beat, a love born in rain can never die.
1. A Kind Gesture

**Hearts of Gold**

1\. A Kind Gesture

"Who said you could touch me!?"

It was a familiar phrase to Arnold. He heard it countless times over the years. He heard it when he would offer a helping hand after they'd turn a corner at the same time and accidentally crash into each other, something that weirdly happened quite a few times. He heard it when, filled with joy after she returned his lost hat, he couldn't stop himself from hugging her tight around her waist.

"Oh. Sorry..." Arnold stood there just inside the school lobby in front of the open doors and let his hand drop down to his side. Some kids rushed past with excitement while others walked with a slow, relaxed stride, as if time would have to wait for them. He watched Helga stomp down the steps in front of him, wondering why she snapped at him like that. Again.

The last few times he heard her say it, he felt different. Of course, it never bothered him before. Even after he found out about her true feelings in San Lorenzo, it was kind of cute for a little while. After all, he knew what she was like. She was a bully. Always had been. She was bossy and rude and obnoxious and affection never seemed to come easily to her. He used to wonder why. Now that he had an idea how she really felt about him, he winced as she said it. The more times she rejected any sort of physical contact, the worse he began to feel. Why did she keep doing this? Wasn't all this just a front? Why was she still pretending she hated him? Was she even pretending? Why hadn't things changed after San Lorenzo, when they finally ki-

"Hey Football Head, you coming or what?" Helga snarled, snapping Arnold back to reality for a moment. School was out, and he'd been standing there staring at her for...how long had it been since she smacked his hand away? "Hellooo! What the heck Paste-for-brains, do you _want_ to stay in school all weekend!?"

"I, uh... Coming, Helga." Arnold finally walked out after her, having stood in the doorway where he tried once again to take her hand, and once again was rejected. As they started toward the bus stop, Arnold kept alternating between staring at the ground and stealing quick glances at Helga, his mind still occupied by all the questions he wanted to ask her.

"Criminy..." Helga sighed, rolling her eyes as she walked alongside him. "So, you doing anything exciting this weekend with your perfect little family?" She asked with more than a little sarcasm, but when he didn't respond she looked over at him and tilted her head. "Arnold...?"

There was a pause at first. He swallowed hard before he answered, "Yes, Helga?"

She realized he didn't even hear her stupid question. Her heart felt heavy when his eyes met hers, and for a moment time stood still and the space around them expanded into the infinity of the universe and all she wanted was to embrace her dear, sweet Arnold and squeeze him tight and apologize to him for her cruel and heartless ways and chase away the pain she'd caused and fill this moment with all the love and happiness that she knew he deserved and why did she have to be so mean and she had to change, had to be better, had to love better, had to show Arnold that she was worth it, had to-

"Hey guys!" Gerald and Phoebe walked up next to them just as the bus pulled up.

"Hey, Gerald. Hey, Phoebe." Arnold smiled and picked his head up a bit as he and Gerald did their traditional handshake. Even though he'd brightened up a little bit, Gerald still got some bad vibes coming off his main man. With Helga right there, however, he felt it best to table the subject for now. The four of them got on the bus and took their seats. As the bus took off, a few early autumn leaves leapt into the air and danced in its wake.

* * *

Arnold and Gerald sat near the front of the bus while Helga and Phoebe took their seats further back. Gerald carefully scanned the bus to see just how alone they were. Sid and Harold and Stinky were arguing about the best way to make fake blood. Chocolate Boy was loudly tearing through foil wrappers and gobbling up their sweet, sugary contents. Figuring there was enough noise and distance between them and the ladies, Gerald decided to try and get Arnold talking a little bit. "You uh... you okay, man?"

Arnold shrugged. "Yeah, I'm alright. You busy this afternoon? I was thinking maybe we could go to the arcade or something."

Gerald smirked and raised an eyebrow at this. "Really? I'm surprised you don't already have plans."

Arnold rolled his eyes. "I don't think Helga wants to hang out with me right now."

"Who said anything about Helga? If anything I thought you'd be hanging with your mom and dad."

Arnold tensed up a bit then and tried to laugh it off. "Oh, um...no, I'm not busy. Come on, let's go to the arcade and play a few rounds of _Killer Instinct_. I've been practicing my combos and I think I might actually beat you this time."

Gerald shook his head at that and crossed his arms. "Okay, one? The day you beat me is the day my hands fall off first. Two? You can't fool me, buddy. Spill it. Your lady giving you the cold shoulder lately?"

"I mean, honestly she's not acting any different than usual. She's the same old Helga we've known since preschool."

"So...what's bugging you? That stuff didn't bug you before. Not like this anyway."

Arnold sighed. "Why _is_ she acting the same, Gerald? She made that video at the last minute just to help me get to San Lorenzo. She helped us escape La Sombra. And to top it all off, she's basically the one who _really_ saved the Green Eyes _and_ my parents! I always knew she was a good person deep down, and...and we..." His face turned red and he glanced out the window, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

Gerald smirked. "Uh-huh. You did. I saw."

"So, why is she still being mean? Why won't she just...I dunno, let me hold her hand? Or buy her lunch? Or sit with her on the bus? Did I do something wrong?"

Gerald shook his head and pat his best friend on the back. "My man, you didn't do a _thing_. That's just Helga. So what if she's gaga over you? She's still her, you know?"

"I know that, but...Gerald I've seen that locket before. My grandpa found it, and we had it for a few days until I _thought_ we lost it. We just didn't know whose it was. And on the FTI building, she mentioned poems and...look, all I'm saying is, I always felt like maybe we were all wrong about her, like all this time maybe she was never as bad as we thought. Now? I _know_ we were wrong. I know for a fact that underneath all her scowling and her yelling, she's actually really kind, and caring, and way more selfless than we ever gave her credit. I just wish she'd act more like it."

Gerald raised an eyebrow. "Selfless? Helga? Helga G. Pataki?"

"Well, she never took the credit for San Lorenzo, did she? I only knew it was her who won the contest because you told me, and after she saved everyone? She just hid from everybody." He shook his head a little. "It's so weird. The Green Eyes had all those shrines of me, but she's the one who really deserves it. All I did was put all of us in danger."

Not wanting Arnold to dwell on an even more depressing subject, Gerald chuckled and tried to keep things light. "You want me to come over, help you build a shrine for Helga?" Gerald smirked and nudged him with his elbow. "Bet the arts and crafts store is still open."

"I'm serious, Gerald. I know she's a good person. I just wish she would trust me is all."

"I know, I know. You sure don't want to give Lila one more shot?"

"Gerald."

"Well alright then. Helga it is. Just try not beat yourself up. Or get beat up by Helga."

"You're a real romantic." Arnold sighed and chuckled a little, finally loosening up.

"You know it."

"A regular Casanova."

"I heard you the first time."

* * *

"Guys, I'm serious, all we have to do is mix corn syrup and red fruit punch. It's literally how they do it in the movies!" Sid proclaimed loudly. "Then we get it all over our faces and jump out at people, and they'll think we're real life zombies!"

"That's stupid! Why don't we just use ketchup!? It looks good enough and I bet it tastes better than that stuff!" Harold said even louder, crossing his arms and pouting.

Stinky shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just saying, my pa said that old movie with the fella in the nightgown used chocolate syrup and it looked just fine."

"DID SOMEBODY SAY CHOCOLATE!?"

Sid screamed as Chocolate Boy lunged over the seat in front of them, his face and hands covered in about half a dozen Mr. Fudgy candy bars. To someone with a history of superstition and paranoia, he might have looked like a ravenous, bloodthirsty zombie for just a second. As quickly as Sid screamed, however, a thud in the back of their seat shut him up and sent Chocolate Boy crawling out of sight.

"Can you morons shut up!? Criminy, you're not the only ones on the bus you know!"

Sid gulped and laughed nervously. "Sorry, Helga..."

"And by the way, if you want it to look good, you'll need water, _clear_ corn syrup, chocolate syrup, red _and_ blue _and_ green food dye, and maybe a tiny bit of flour if it's too transparent. Just don't add too much blue dye or it'll look purple. Oh, and venous blood is darker than arterial blood."

The boys sat silently for a moment before they resumed their discussion. At a much lower volume.

"Idiots..." Helga felt something crumpling around by her feet and glanced down, noticing one of Chocolate Freak's torn up candy bar wrappers had slid under the seats on the floor. She kicked it under the seat in front of her and grumbled. "Stupid filthy bus..." Sensing that Helga wanted to be left alone, Phoebe had been reading a text book and listening to music on her phone, not even noticing the brief commotion that had taken place in front of them. By the way, she was _not_ listening to Ronnie Matthews.

Helga leaned against the bus and stared out the window. It was funny, she thought, the way the town passed by out there. She hadn't noticed this before, but the sidewalk and the road beneath them seemed to zip by much faster than the houses and shops and plastic skeletons dangling from trees. Trees that were beginning to look like old quilts with multi-colored patches of red and brown and yellow among the dying green. It all went by like that. The closer any object was to her view, the faster it went. It was almost like they were riding around the edge of some giant circle.

Her trance was broken by the all too familiar feeling of an empty stomach rumbling for nourishment. She sighed and shook her head. Was she really that bored right now? She reached into her backpack without looking, feeling around to find that bag of pretzels she'd swiped from Harold during lunch. The big dumb idiot was too busy whining after he spilled his milk all over his stupid face trying to win some lame bet with the other idiots. She was lucky for it too, since all she had for lunch was an old protein shake Bob was never going to drink and one slice of cold toast she was wise enough to save from breakfast.

As she dug around in her bag, her hand felt the familiar cold metal spiral of a small pink notebook, her latest volume, and without even pulling it out to scan its contents, let alone write in it, her mind instantly went to her muse. To the boy of her dreams.

The boy in the little blue hat. The boy with the soft, smooth cornflour hair. The boy with those gorgeous green eyes, eyes she could stare into for days just to memorize their every detail. The way they began with a subtle ring of dark ocean blue, then were filled with a lush and vibrant green, a jungle she would be happy to get lost in, and then ended with a sun burst of gold around each pupil. His eyes contained a whole world, and for all her life she wanted to live there.

Now she finally had her chance. And she was blowing it.

"Helga?"

Helga gasped and spun her head around. "Criminy, don't do that!"

Phoebe tilted her head. "I just said 'Helga'... Are you feeling well? You were shivering a moment ago."

Helga sighed, the pounding in her chest subsiding as she tried to catch her breath. "Well, Pheebs, you did just give me a freaking heart attack, but otherwise I'm just peachy. It's just a little chilly, that's all." She scowled a bit and crossed her arms.

Phoebe pulled her earbuds out and put her phone away. "It's Arnold isn't it?"

Helga huffed and rolled her eyes. "Is it that obvious?"

"It's obvious to me, at least. But I'm your best friend. It's my job to notice these things."

"I guess." Helga folded her hands in her lap and rolled her thumbs around, holding her head a little lower as she glanced at her friend. "Do you think he's alright? He wasn't all...annoying and...and...you know, he wasn't his usual dumb self!"

"He did seem mildly despondent earlier. Perhaps you should talk to him."

Helga snarled. "Oh yeah, great idea Phoebe. I'll just go talk to him. I'll tell him all about the poems and the shrines and the tantric spells and the voodoo dolls. That'll cheer him up. Or maybe, here's an idea, maybe I'll just go over there and smack him upside his goofy football-shaped head and say, 'Snap out of it you whiny, doe-eyed crybaby! What's the matter, not enough rainbows and sparkles in your day today?' I'm sure he'll just love that. Yeah, that'll work. Great idea, Phoebe!" A few people on the bus turned to look at her and Helga looked around to make sure Arnold hadn't noticed before sinking in her seat with a growl.

Phoebe paused, holding her finger to her lips as she tried to choose her words carefully. "You know... You don't have to say such things if you don't want to, Helga."

Helga swallowed hard. "I know, I know! That's the thing! I don't want to, Phoebe. I really, _really_ don't. It's just... It's hard, you know? Like, I know it's a nasty habit, but it's tough to break."

"Is it a habit because you can't stop, or because you're too scared to try?"

Helga's heart sank, but she refused to give in so easily. "Oh yeah, I'm shaking in my boots, Phoebe. Helga G. Pataki isn't scared of _anything_. Although I do hate rats."

"Helga."

"Disgusting little creatures. They poop everywhere and-"

"Helga..."

"-they crawl all through the walls and in our garbage and-"

"Helga!"

Helga froze for a moment and then sighed. "Sorry. Got a little carried away there."

"I'm sorry, Helga, but you were changing the subject."

Helga held her face in her hands for a moment, shaking her head. "What do I do, Phoebe? He finally noticed me, and I'm ruining it. I thought maybe he was okay, he was smirking a lot when I teased him like I usually do, but he's not smirking or giving me that look with his eyes anymore, that half-lidded gaze, and...I know it's my fault, and I don't know what to do." Helga wiped her eyes with her fingers and took a deep breath. She was _not_ going to cry on this stupid bus.

Phoebe put her hand on her friend's shoulder, trying her best to soothe her pain. "You can do it, Helga. Just be nicer to him. He knows how you feel now, and he didn't reject you. Perhaps a kind gesture of some sort would make him feel better?"

"A kind gesture...? You mean like a gift or something?"

"It could be. However it doesn't need to be a material thi-"

"That's it! Phoebe, you're a genius!" Helga sat up then with a wide grin on her face.

Phoebe giggled a little at the compliment. "Thank you, Helga. Just try not to be too flashy or superficial."

Helga rolled her eyes at that, remembering how tough it was to shop for that sentimental little dork she happened to love so much. "Right, right, it's gotta be all mushy and gross and romantic... I'll think of something. Maybe. I hope."

* * *

"How come he gets to be Frankenstein!" Ernie shouted, tossing a bag of candy corn to the floor. "It's my turn this year, everybody agreed on it already!"

"Because he has Bride and you don't!" Mr. Hyunh shouted back. "And do not spill candy corn! You make a very big mess!"

"Dagnabbit, you listen here! This is my boy's first Halloween in ten years, and I say he gets to be Frankenstein! It's only fair, right Pookie?" Phil asked as he looked around trying to find his wife for support. At the moment she was dressed like a mad scientist and talking to a very weird plant in the corner, not even paying attention to her surroundings.

"I know you're hungry, dear, but you're going to have to wait until everyone else is gone. Wouldn't want to scare 'em now would we?" Gertie whispered loudly to her green, leafy new "pet" as she laughed maniacally. Phil rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Hey Grandpa, why can't I be Frankenstein? Suzie can be my Bride if Stella doesn't want to." A smack in the arm later, Oskar winced and held up his hands defensively, as if expecting a follow-up. "Whaaat?"

"You know what, Oskar!" Suzie said with a huff, getting up from the couch and walking away upstairs.

"Suzie, come back! You can be the Bride if you want!" Oskar almost got up to chase her, but he spotted Ernie's discarded bag of candy corn near his feet and carefully leaned down to grab it, slowly taking his seat on the couch again. After all, Ernie clearly didn't want it anymore, right? He was too busy arguing with Grandpa and Mr. Hyunh, and he did throw it away. That meant it was free for the taking, naturally.

Miles and Stella exchanged knowing glances. Miles sat far away from Oskar on the opposite end of the couch, and Stella sat on the arm next to him with one leg folded beneath her and holding her arm against the back of the couch for support.

"Looks like we're dressing up this year, honey. You going to be okay in those tall boots?" Stella asked as she tried not to laugh.

"Oh, I'll be fine. But maybe have the first aid kit ready just in case." Miles rubbed the back of his neck as he imagined how easy it would be to hurt himself trying to walk around in those things. Stella laughed and he smiled a little, but it faded as his mind started to wander.

He wasn't the young man he used to be, who had a baby boy just learning to walk and talk and get into trouble, and who could get into all kinds of trouble of his own for that matter. He wasn't the same man who leapt into rocky waters and flew across canyons and climbed up steep, unforgiving mountains and cliff sides. Ten years had passed, and in all that time all he did was sleep and hope that one day soon he would wake up. Soon turned out to be a decade. A decade not knowing where his son was or if he was okay, or how the rest of his family was coping, or what his friends were up to in his absence. So much time passed, and to him it may as well have been a long nap.

Naps don't add this many silver hairs, though. Naps don't weaken your bones and your muscles and make you count the minutes until you can sit or lie down again. Make no mistake, he loved the days when he and Stella would walk with Arnold to school, but he didn't have the heart to tell him how quickly he got sore, how quickly his whole body started to ache. It was worse when he remembered that as tough as it was for him, Stella was going through the exact same thing. So the walks to school and back were less and less, which Arnold thankfully didn't seem to mind.

Now it wasn't quite so bad thanks to a couple months of physical therapy, but knowing that he wasn't in good shape like he used to be, he couldn't help but worry that his clumsiness could get him hurt much more seriously if he wasn't careful. Or at least he worried that whatever bumps, bruises, or breaks he did acquire might take longer to heal.

Stella stared into her husband's eyes as he stared at nothing in particular, lost in thought. She could tell from the way his eyelids twitched so slightly, something most people wouldn't notice, that he was thinking of something painful.

"Hey bae. I got an idea." She nudged his shoulder gently and offered a warm smile.

Miles shook his head for a second and looked up at her with an eyebrow raised. "Did you call me 'bay' just now?"

Stella laughed. "I heard Arnold's friend say it the other day. I guess it's like babe, or baby, something like...whatever. Anyway, since Arnold's hanging with Gerald for a little while, how about you and me go for a walk? Fresh air could do you some good, and it could be fun to see all the Halloween decorations everyone's putting up. What do you say?"

"Well, um... You think we could make it a ride?" Miles asked as he shifted in his seat a little. "I'm...a little tired, honestly. For a walk, that is."

She saw through his little fib but didn't feel much like pressing it, so she leaned down and kissed the top of his head. "Sure, honey."

He smiled at that. "Now see, I like honey."

"Oh yeah? It's not too late to tell your dad you'd rather be Winnie the Pooh."

"You'd rather be Oskar's bride?"

"Point taken."

They both got up then and started toward the door, grabbing their jackets and trying not to laugh as Ernie snatched his bag of candy corn back from Oskar and berated him for stealing what Oskar swore was his own identical bag of candy corn and not the one Ernie threw on the floor earlier.

* * *

"There is no way I'm being a ballerina for Halloween this year," Helga snarled. She liked pink, sure, but this thing? For one it looked too tight, and she was not about to prance up and down the street revealing all the latest developments in the real life terror that was puberty. It was also far too prissy and sweet and glittery and, you know, junk like that.

"But... But I picked it out especially for us, Baby Sister... I just... I thought if we had matching costumes, we could finally connect the way you always wanted... But you hate it! And now everything is ruined!"

Helga rolled her eyes as Olga stood there ready to start the water works, holding the stupid costume up in the air while wearing a nearly identical one herself. Surely a haunting image, Helga thought. Hauntingly pathetic.

The only problem was that Helga had already mentioned that she might need her sister's help with something important, and she was in no position to turn her down completely. Thinking fast, she thought up a way to have her Spicy Volcanic Cheezos and eat them too.

"How about this. There's this old movie I like with ballerinas in it. I'll dress up as one of the other characters, and that way we'll still _kind of_ belong together." She was smart enough not to mention that it was a weird old horror movie, of course.

Olga sniffled and dabbed at her eyes then, her lip still trembling as she forced a smile. "Oh Helga, you really believe we belong together!? Oh you are just the best most wonderful Baby Sister I could ever ask for! I... I'm so lucky you're here, Helga! I don't know what I'd do without you! I... I..."

Helga closed her eyes and braced for impact as Olga enveloped her in another crushing embrace. She wondered for a moment if this was all some evil plan to suffocate her to death, or perhaps Olga had secretly become a pro wrestler and this was her way of practicing her big finisher. And she did have the tights now. "Blubbering Ballerina" they'd call her. Or perhaps "Sobbing Simpleton" was a better fit.

When Helga could finally breathe again and the feeling came back to her limbs, she quickly spat out an excuse to go to her room and did just that, thankful that Bob was busy on the phone and her mother was passed out on the couch again as usual. She got to her room in the back of the old Beeper Emporium and very quietly closed the door behind her, preferring not to deal with any barking from her loudmouth father of the freaking year. She would have locked the door but it didn't lock from the inside, of course, since it was basically a glorified closet. She fell back onto her lumpy old bed full of disheveled sheets and blankets and reached into her shirt, pulling her locket out and gazing at her beloved.

"Oh, Arnold, my sweet prince. My chosen one, my green-eyed savior. How I long to hold you in my arms, to feel your lips against mine once more. If only I could be the girl you so desperately wish to see in me. But no, instead I avoid you. I yell at you and push you away, as though the very love that sustains me were a cruel, twisted lie. I need to prove to you that everything you said was true, that I truly _do_ love you more than anything in this dark and crazy world, but how? How do I convince you that I can be everything you want me to be?"

As she stared at the face on the locket, she realized just how old this picture was. Curious to see what she had for more recent photos, she set her locket down on a little table next to her bed and pulled out her phone. She went to her gallery which immediately opened on a folder labeled "Arnold".

Her eyes widened and her heart stilled as she noticed just how joyless he looked. As she scrolled through them, traveling back in time with each swipe, he was at his happiest when he was hanging out with other friends like Gerald or Stinky, but she knew his eyes well, and could read the frustration and sadness behind them. She swiped faster and faster, as if to undo the weeks of damage she'd done by repeatedly rejecting him, desperate to see him before San Lorenzo.

Then she swiped past something very different, and had to go back. She gasped when she saw it. A photo she forgot she'd taken not long after they got home from their insane jungle ordeal. There sat Arnold with his parents by the docks, enjoying a beautiful summer sunset, wind blowing in their hair. They were so happy.

She hugged herself the way she always did when no one else would.

And then it hit her. Her heart, cold and lonely just moments ago, swelled with the warmth of hope as she jumped out of her bed and ran out of her room to search the dying electronics store she called home now. She started to search every storage area, every closet, every box of old office junk she could find from the days before Bob decided to push beepers over everything else.

She just knew there had to be a photo printer around there somewhere.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Hey everyone! I'm very excited to share this tale that I've concocted. I grew up watching the show, and I found myself relating to many of them. I saw parts of myself in them, in a way. Now I plan to return the favor. However, please know that I'm not just hijacking these characters just to project my own experiences onto them and rob them of their identities. This is not a story about my life. I want to remain as authentic to them as I can.**

 **I plan for this story to be a bit of a roller coaster. There will be highs. There will be lows. Whether you enjoy angst and drama, or joy and romance, I hope to satisfy you as much as I can.**

 **I hope you enjoy what I have in store. If you would be so kind, please share your reviews and send me your thoughts. I'm eager to hear from you!**

 **Oh, and just call me Witty!**


	2. Instincts

**Hearts of Gold**

2\. Instincts

"You gotta be freaking kidding me!" Helga yelled, slamming her fist down on the table she used for a desk. Figures. The one photo printer she could find was a piece of junk.

She should have known that it would be low on ink. That it would come out a little too blurry. That for some reason, the photo would be all faded near the end. She felt stupid for forgetting that it wasn't just the beepers that barely worked, and however crappy that stupid printer may have been when it was new, it surely couldn't have helped that it was practically ancient now. Compared to the kind of photo printers people were using nowadays, anyway.

She crumpled up the useless photo and tossed it in the garbage. Defeated, she sighed and sank in her desk chair, her five computer monitors casting a blue glow over her face as if to manifest the way she was feeling inside. She knew what she had to do. And she really did not want to do it.

She needed Olga's help after all.

* * *

After another round of back-breaking hugs and eye-rolling squeals, the two of them grabbed jackets and started out the door. Olga was delighted that her dear sister actually thought enough of her to come to her for help. Helga, meanwhile, just wanted to get it over with. But as always, Helga could never walk out of her family's crumbling castle of crap without orders from King Bob.

"Where do you think you're going? I thought you were back there looking for beepers," he growled.

Helga rolled her eyes. "Printers, Bob. I was looking for a _photo printer_. Now, have we your blessing to go to Budnick's marketplace, your royal highness?"

"Hey hey hey! Don't you 'royal highness' me, young lady! Didn't I teach you proper manners!?" Bob leaned down to get in Helga's face, which only made her scowl grow.

"What's that, dear?" Miriam called out half-heartedly in her usual slurred drunken voice.

"Oh would you shut up in there!? I'm not talking to you, moron, I'm trying to teach the girl some manners!" Bob shouted across the store. Miriam didn't respond after that.

Olga winced then. "Don't worry, Daddy, we won't be gone too long. I just have to help Helga with-"

"A SCHOOL PROJECT!" Helga interrupted loudly before gulping and nervously trying to laugh it off. "Yeah, uh, a school project. It's...for art class! I need art supplies!" Olga tilted her head at that. The way Helga talked about it before, it seemed more important than art supplies for a school project. Rather than bring it up now, she figured she'd ask about it later.

Bob rolled his eyes. "That school and their lousy projects... Fine. Whatever. But if you two aren't back on time to make dinner, I'm ordering a pizza from Antonio's for your mother and I, and you two will just have to fend for yourselves. Got it? And by the way, you need to clean that dump you call a bedroom, understood?"

Helga growled and narrowed her eyes like she was ready to attack, but Olga touched her shoulder and stepped forward to answer for her. "We understand, Daddy. Love you!" She hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. It may have lightened his mood a little, but it only made Helga want to vomit. "Bye Mummy! See you when we get back!" She called out to Miriam as her father walked away. She still didn't answer. Olga swallowed hard, trying to swallow a sadness that was too familiar to her, and turned back to Helga. "Alright, Baby Sister! Let's go get your...well, whatever it is you need."

Helga was relieved when they took off down the road in Olga's stupid purple Volkswagen with the flowers all over it. Even if it wasn't the most comfortable. She reached down to her right to feel along the side of the seat. "How the heck do you put the seat back in this thing?" It wasn't like she'd been in it often enough. She always tried to avoid situations where she'd have to go somewhere with Olga. Even if she did it was extremely rare that it was just the two of them like this. Usually she'd be forced to wait for someone to put their seat forward, which her idiot family usually forgot to do, and climb into the even more cramped and uncomfortable back seat.

Once she found the right lever and got a bit more comfortable, she sighed and looked at Olga. "Listen, I just... thanks. For this, I mean."

"Oh, Baby Sister, it's no problem at all. To be perfectly honest, I wish you and I could get out like this more often." Of course she would say 'perfectly' honest, perfect little fairy princess.

That's what Helga would normally be thinking, but instead she was curious. What did her sister see in her? If she was making the love of her life so miserable, why would her worst enemy want to spend _more_ time with her?

"Really? You actually like spending time with me even though I'm a cranky pain in everyone's butt?" Helga asked with a tone of suspicion.

"Well, you're not a pain in my butt, Helga. You can be a little grumpy sometimes, but honestly? I'm so very happy to have you for a Baby Sister and I wouldn't have it any other way." Olga smiled, taking a quick glance at Helga. Enough for Helga to catch the watery eyes and the trembling lip.

"Don't forget you _are_ driving right now. Save the tears for later. Sheesh..."

Olga laughed a little then. "I guess I am being a little silly, aren't I? Thanks for looking out for me again."

"Again...?"

"Of course! You're always looking out for me. I only wish I could repay you for that one day. I sure am happy to help you with your, um... project."

Helga remembered her little lie earlier and took a deep breath. _I can't believe I'm about to do this,_ she thought. "So, about that... It's not a school project. What I need printed is a bit more...personal. It's a gift actually, for Ar... are you in the mood for some music? Heheh..."

Olga tilted her head. "No, I'm happy just talking with you. So who is your gift for? A little friend of yours from school?"

"Yeeeaaahh... Yes, a friend. From school." Helga shifted in her seat, trying to force the redness in her face to go away through sheer force of will. But it didn't work, and when Olga glanced over at her, her eyes lit up.

"Wait, is this a gift for a boy!?" Olga gasped. Helga groaned. "Oh my gosh, Baby Sister! That is so _adorable!_ My goodness, you're growing up so fast aren't you!?"

"Oh, just save it. Look, you _cannot_ tell anyone, especially Mom and Dad, about any of this, okay? Please? Olga I don't ask you for very much, but this is important to me."

Olga sighed with a warm smile on her face. "Of course, Helga. My lips are sealed."

"And I mean it, no one and I mean _no one_ can know about this. No blabbing it out to the whole world like your stupid little 'bed wetter' parable."

Olga paused for a moment, remembering how embarrassed Helga was. But she was too excited about her Baby Sister having a little boyfriend to lose her big, beaming smile. "You got it, Baby Sister."

Helga relaxed a little and leaned against the window.

"So... Do you know how much this will cost?" Olga asked very gently.

Helga winced hard, like she just felt a painful jolt of electricity shoot through her. "I um... I don't know, to be honest. I'm just printing a photo and... If it's not too much I'd like to get a nice frame for it."

Olga reached over and touched her arm. "Nothing is too much for my Baby Sister. If it costs a little more than you have, I'd be more than happy to make up the difference, okay?"

Helga turned to look out the window a bit as a little smile crept onto her face. "Thanks. I...really appreciate it."

* * *

"Dang it!" Arnold shouted as he watched his latest chosen fighter collapse while Cinder, whom Gerald selected every time, stood victorious. "It's not fair, you always pick Cinder."

"That's because I fight the best with him. I got all his combos down, man. Plus I _am_ the master of this game anyway." Gerald crossed his arms and smirked while Arnold rolled his eyes.

"I'll beat you one day, you'll see."

"Maybe if you stop jumping from fighter to fighter and stick with one long enough you'll learn all the right combos."

Arnold knew it was true. He just couldn't seem to master any particular fighter. Orchid, Thunder, Glacius, they all fell to Gerald's practically supernatural skill with Cinder. Even T.J. Combo was a bust, and the word "combo" is literally the character's name. Still, Arnold had yet to defeat his smooth-talking friend.

Gerald leaned against the cabinet as the rematch timer started counting down. "You out of quarters yet?"

"Yeah," he grumbled as the timer hit zero.

"Another day, then." The two boys walked out of the arcade and started to head home, Arnold shoving his hands in his pockets as a gust of cool autumn wind blew against them. Gerald then asked, "So, you going to Rhonda's party?"

Arnold shrugged. Rhonda's costume parties were usually fun. A little smile formed on his face as he remembered one year where he spent the whole time with Helga. He remembered wondering why she put on such a good Lila impression, and now it only seemed obvious to him. How could he be so naive? It made him wonder what else she's done just to get his attention, and how often he didn't notice.

"You got a weird look on your face, man. You have _got_ to get out of this funk."

"You think Helga's going to the um... the Halloween thing?" Arnold asked in a bit of a daze, still rummaging through his brain for memories.

"Halloween thing? Rhonda's party, you mean?"

"...Yes, that one."

"How should I know?" Gerald asked with his hands in the air for emphasis.

Arnold shrugged, and then an idea came to him. "Maybe Phoebe could talk her into it? They've been best friends for years. All you have to do is tell Phoebe I'll definitely go if Helga's going."

"Do you _really_ want her to come? All she's going to do is make fun of you the whole night and boss you arou-"

"Please, Gerald. I need you to do me this one favor. I have to make things right with Helga, and maybe if we go to Rhonda's party together she'll know I'm serious about our...our..."

"Arnold, buddy, say it ain't so. Your _relationship_!?"

"Well, yeah..." Arnold rubbed the back of his neck as his face turned red.

"Mmm-mm-mm, she has got you good." Gerald sighed and shook his head. "Alright. Alright, I'll do it, but for your own sake, don't put up with any bad attitude if it gets you down too much, alright? Just drop her and find something _fun_ to do."

Arnold rolled his eyes then. "I guess. But trust me, it'll work out."

"You're a bold kid, Arnold."

"People do tell me that." Arnold's smile didn't leave his face as he looked down at the sidewalk beneath them, feeling dried old leaves crunch beneath his feet every few steps or so.

"Well, I'd come over to chill at your place but I better get home. I don't need my old man playing a little _Killer Instinct_ on me if I'm late for dinner. Plus I gotta grab the TV before Jamie-O hogs it again."

"I thought you weren't going to watch the new _Pop Daddy_ tonight."

Gerald grimaced at that. "I don't know. I still think it's stupid they had to go and reboot it like that. And they didn't even cast the same guy! I just know I'll hate it."

"That's a little pessimistic, don't you think? I mean, how do you know for sure unless you watch it?" Arnold asked as he tilted his head.

"More like realistic, Arnold. I mean, maybe it won't be _completely_ lame. Maybe I'd even like it. But as long as I keep my expectations low and just avoid it, I can't be let down, now can I?"

Gerald had a point. In fact... Gerald had a very good point. Arnold's eyes lit up then. "So... you're too scared to give it a chance, because you don't want to get your hopes up in case you're disappointed..."

"That's what I said. Basically... You okay, man? You got that weird look again."

"I'm fine, Gerald. I think I just figured something out." Arnold started to pick up the pace, holding his head higher as he walked. "I'll see you tomorrow. I gotta talk to my parents about this."

Gerald stopped and tilted his head as Arnold took off in a hurry to get home. "Alright, then. That...was weird."

* * *

As Olga flirted with the hunky dork at the photo lab, Helga opened the envelope to carefully pull out her photo. She was careful not to touch the front so she didn't leave any fingerprints or smudges. She had planned on waiting until she got home, but she had to make sure it came out as perfectly as she'd hoped. Sure enough, it was just right. She hoped a 5x7 was the right size to go with. She didn't want to go too small or too large. Mr. Right at the counter recommended glossy stock for more vibrant colors, and while she felt an urge to rebel and go matte instead, she didn't want to risk screwing up Arnold's gift. Turns out, he was right after all. It looked perfect to her. She stared into the eyes of her beloved, so full of love and happiness, and longed to see such warmth when he looked at her.

She was so distracted by the angel in her photo that she didn't notice Olga looking over her shoulder. Olga held a hand to her heart and smiled, telling herself not to cry again. As Helga slowly and carefully put the photo back in the envelope, Olga turned around to pretend she wasn't paying attention.

"So how much does the picture cost?" Helga asked as she stepped up to the counter.

"Three bucks," replied Fabio-lite.

"Don't worry Helga, I've got it covered." She smiled and winked at her before resuming her conversation.

Helga shrugged. This was probably Olga's way of helping out, she figured. After all the frame was bound to be more expensive, if she wound up with the kind of frame she had her heart set on. She just hoped she had enough.

Helga walked away to look at their display of frames, seeing a lot of cheap black and white and brown frames, a few wood frames she didn't care for, some really crappy, goofy frames with big colorful words and piano keys on them, and some frames that seemed okay but just weren't the right size. Finally she found a collection of more high-end frames, with lots of gold and silver and even diamonds. She knew she couldn't stretch her funds _that_ far, so she kept looking until one 5x7 frame stood out.

It was gold, fairly simple but engraved very subtly with delicate, simple scrolling designs, just a few so it didn't look too gaudy. She didn't know if it was pure gold or just gold-plated, but for someone with as pure a heart as Arnold, it was perfect.

It also cost twice what she had to spend. "Criminy..."

"What's the matter, Helga? Did you find the one you want?"

Helga jumped a little and gulped. "Oh, I found the one I _wanted_ alright. But it's too much. I guess I'll just keep looking..."

"Don't be silly, Baby Sister. Which one is it?" Helga took it off the shelf and handed it to her. Olga tilted her head as Helga went back to looking at other frames. It wasn't as bad as she expected, but it was a little much for just a picture frame. Still, she thought of the way Helga looked at that photo and it warmed her heart.

"That's not so bad. I already told you I was going to cover you, right? So come on. Let's pay for these and head home." Olga walked back toward the counter, the frame in her hand, as Helga trailed behind her with a confused look. Since when was Olga this nice to _her_? It'd be annoying if it wasn't so weird and oddly comforting.

Helga pulled out her worn old _Charlie's Angels_ wallet and started to pull out all the cash she had, ready to hand it over. Except when she looked up, she saw Olga give that chiseled cashier her card, as well as a slip of paper with her phone number written on it.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Helga raised her brow on one side.

"Buying this stuff for you, silly!" She replied eagerly. Helga did a double-take.

"Excuse me? Listen here, I don't need your stinking charity, so I'm paying you ba-"

"Put your money away, Helga. I'm doing this." Helga was surprised to hear such a stern tone from her cheery little princess of a sister. But her tone shifted the next time she spoke, becoming warm and gentle. "It's what big sisters are supposed to do, and I don't mind one bit. Okay?"

Helga nodded. Dumbstruck. Shocked. Who was this person? Was this Olga? Her sister? Mom and Dad's favorite little prissy pumpkin pie, who never cared about her or listened to her or respected her enough to keep her secrets or consider her feelings? What happened between then and now? Did something change? For a moment Helga even wondered if she finally passed out from one of Olga's hugs and this whole thing was a dream. But no, this was Olga. The insane thought crossed her mind that maybe, just maybe, she actually misunderstood Olga a little bit.

"Well don't just stand there, Baby Sister! We have to go now!" Olga laughed, having started to walk away while Helga stood still and stared after her.

"Uhhh... Right. Okay, I'm... I'm coming." Helga shambled over to her, and Olga handed her the bag with the envelope and frame inside. All the way to the car, Helga may as well have been practicing to join Harold, Sid, and Stinky as a member of their zombie horde the way she walked after this strange new Olga with her jaw hanging open and her limbs all loose and wobbly. As they took off in the Volkswagen, Helga kept looking from the gift in her lap to the sister she practically just met for the first time.

"Hey, um...Olga?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you. Seriously, thank you."

"You're so welcome, Helga. Don't be afraid to ask me for help, okay? I know I haven't always been there for you, but I want you to know you really can count on me."

"...Okay. Thank you, again..."

They both smiled all the way home, but Helga's smile quickly turned into a look of horror as she had a terrifying realization...

...she was going to be a ballerina for Halloween this year.

* * *

As he and Stella explored Hillwood in the old Packard, Miles wasn't sure which was more surprising to him. How much things had changed, or how much things hadn't changed at all. In just ten years, more shops had closed or been replaced than he expected. That vacant lot full of junk had been turned into a baseball field. The old police station was gone. An old apartment building where he used to visit old friends was now an office building for something called Tedesco Industries. He wondered how many more memories he could have made. How many memories Arnold had of these places, if any. Memories he'd missed out on.

And yet, many parts of the city were more or less intact. Green Meats was still going strong, though Old Man Green finally left Marty to run the place on his own. Mrs. Vitello's flower shop looked mostly the same. Even the old Circle Theater was still standing after all this time, and had apparently been made a city landmark.

Miles tried to be as enthusiastic for all the ghosts and skeletons and witches as Stella was, but he couldn't stop looking beneath those things at the city they'd left behind ten years ago. He almost felt like a ghost himself.

"You okay, hon? We could head home if you want. Arnold should be back soon."

"Yeah, I'm okay. It's just wild how things are around here. Can you believe we have _two_ fancy French restaurants now?"

Stella laughed. "I just wish they'd have gone with a different name. I bet people confuse them all the time."

"And since when did we have a flippin' Kacy's downtown anyway?" He laughed too, but punctuated it with a sigh. "You think any of our old friends are still here?"

Stella thought for a moment. "Maybe. I'd say it's pretty likely, honestly. Towns like these are full of people who just...grew up here and never left."

"You mean like we did?" Miles says with a small voice, leaning up against the window.

Stella reached over to touch his knee gently. "I understand it's hard seeing all this, hon. Just try to look on the bright side, okay? We're here now, and we get to be the parents of an amazing boy. Who...happens to be right there."

Arnold looked up at the familiar sound of the Packard approaching and stopped walking along the sidewalk as they pulled up next to him. Stella rolled her window down and leaned out toward him.

"Well, speak of the angel. Need a lift?"

Arnold smiled at that. "Sure. Actually I was hoping I could talk to you guys anyway." Miles and Stella exchanged looks as Arnold got into the back seat. Before Stella could drive off, Miles opened his door and got into the back with Arnold. Stella smirked a bit, knowing this might be just what Miles needed to cheer up a bit. When they started talking, she started driving.

"What's on your mind, kid?" Miles asked as he turned in his seat a bit to face his son, his sadness immediately fading as parental instincts took over.

"Well, um...okay, you don't have to...make a big deal out of it or anything, but... Do you remember that girl, from San Lorenzo? Pink bow, blonde hair, goes to the same schoo-"

"Of course we remember _that_ girl." Miles grinned as Arnold's face turned all red again. "Haven't seen her in a while, though. How's she doing anyway?"

"Wellll... She used to bully me. Like, a lot. And she still does. She kind of bullies everybody, really. The thing is, I get the worst of it. But..."

"But...?"

"I know that isn't the real her. I mean, I _really_ know. So many times she's shown me how big her heart really is. She got her dad to fund a parade float just for me. She helped us save Mighty Pete when her dad was going to knock it down, and-"

"Bob Pataki was going to knock down Mighty Pete!?" Miles said as his eyes got wide.

"Yeah! And Helga helped us stop him. She really does have an amazing heart..." Arnold gulped a little then, as if those last few words struck a chord in his mind. He wiped his eyes then and closed them, his head hanging down now.

"She even..."

Miles put his hand on his son's back, leaning a bit to try to see his expression.

"Go on, honey," Stella said as she was looking back at him now. Neither Arnold nor Miles even noticed until then that she had stopped the car on the side of the road, just outside Tina Park.

"If it wasn't for her...I wouldn't have you. She's the reason I made it to San Lorenzo. She's the reason I didn't give up when La Sombra kidnapped us. And it was _her locket_ that saved you and all the Green Eyes. Her locket with a picture of _me_ in it."

Miles and Stella looked at each other then, not sure what to say now.

"I just... I know she loves me, but she's...scared to open up, or get close. So she's stuck in her old ways. I think she might even feel trapped. What should I do?"

Miles shrugged. "You have such a big heart, son. It won't steer you wrong. Just try to find a way to approach her where she's comfortable to talk with you. But you already knew that's what you need to do, right?" Arnold smiled then and took a deep breath, letting it out slow. Stella turned off the car and got out, going over to Arnold's side and opening his door. A few pigeons flew overhead and into the park ahead of them.

"C'mon. Park's right here, why don't we all take a short walk, get a little fresh air?" Stella said as much for Miles as she did for Arnold.

Miles took a deep breath of his own and nodded. "Alright. A short walk should be fine." After talking with Arnold, he felt a little spring in his step again, a little life in those old bones. Despite all his melancholy moping earlier, being a dad to his son was all he needed to feel rejuvenated.

As they walked into Tina Park together, Arnold pressed his parents for just a bit more advice.

"So, should I try to talk to her now, or maybe give her a little more time?"

"When the right time comes, you'll know the way."

Arnold nodded and looked ahead. In the distance he saw someone sitting alone on a park bench, feeding the birds. Pigeons, actually.

A lot of pigeons.

The closer they got, the more familiar the figure on the bench became. Arnold's eyes grew wider, wondering if it was really _him_. He heard his parents whispering something, but all he could focus on was the shape before them. Soon they approached the bench and most of the pigeons flew away. The man turned to look at them, as surprised as Arnold was. Didn't he fly far away from here? As far as Arnold knew, he was supposed to be in Paris.

But no, he wasn't in Paris. He was here. The legendary Pigeon Man, in the flesh. Arnold was stunned to see him, and it was such good timing now that his parents were with him. There was so much Arnold wanted to talk about with him, and he was excited to introduce him to his mom and dad, and vice versa. As Pigeon Man got up and walked over to them, a huge grin came over Arnold's face. He couldn't believe his luck. Honestly, he was rather shocked.

But nothing shocked Arnold more than when he heard his father break the silence between them with one word:

"Vincent...?"


	3. A Better Future

**Hearts of Gold**

3\. A Better Future

"So, wait... You guys knew each other for _how_ long!?" asked a dumbstruck Arnold, staring at his father on the other side of the kitchen table. Next to Pigeon Man. Or rather, next to Vincent Fredrickson, his best friend from Hillwood.

"Well, we met just before middle school, but we really bonded in college." Miles said with a little sigh, fondly remembering those days. "We were even roommates for a little while."

"Wait, you went to college?" Arnold asked as he looked at Vincent now. It was hard for him to imagine Vincent's life ending up like this if he had some sort of education. What he didn't know was that Vincent was never able to finish. His grades weren't ideal, and several mandatory classes were not only outside his interest, they were beyond his understanding. When his grades plummeted, he was no longer eligible for financial aid. Despite the painful memories Arnold's question may have conjured, Vincent knew didn't mean it. He was simply a curious young man.

"For a little while. I wanted to be a veterinarian. But it wasn't easy. Or affordable, for that matter. I suppose I wasn't cut out for it."

Arnold sensed his little faux-pas and bit his lip. "I'm sorry, Vincent..."

Vincent shrugged and smiled sadly. "It's okay, Arnold."

Miles interjected, not wanting to dwell on some of the more difficult parts of their past. "Back in middle school we'd hang out in Mighty Pete all the time, us and the rest of our little gang. Vince would be bird watching, I'd be playing cards with Craig and Spencer, Jamil would usually be reading comics. And when we weren't hanging out up there, we'd be out playing baseball or throwing rocks at trains. We were pretty cool when we were your age."

Arnold wasn't sure who most of those people were, but he could imagine it. "Wow. So you guys were just like me and my friends, huh?"

"That's right, Arnold. And we stayed friends way into our adult years. We were great dorm buddies too. We had so much pizza and...soda. We bonded a lot when it was just the two of us."

Vincent smiled at that. "Your dad and I had some fun times. He was the only friend I really had in those days."

"Hey now, I was a pretty cool friend too, buster," Stella broke in.

"I think he meant college, hon. He didn't meet you until later, remember?"

"...Oh. Yes, that's right. Sorry! Carry on."

Vincent let out a gentle laugh and looked at Arnold. "You know, it was your mom who told me about those berries. The ones you gave Chester."

His parents looked a little confused by that, but Arnold lit up suddenly. "Wait, you mean... _Basically_ she helped you...to help me...to help Chester!? That's incredible!"

"You have amazing parents, Arnold." Vincent then turned and looked at them. "And by the way, you two have an amazing young man here."

Miles nodded in agreement. "We sure do."

"And this amazing young man should probably get to bed. He does have school tomorrow," Stella said with a little smirk and a wink. It took Arnold a moment to figure out what she was getting at. Then it hit him and his face turned red and he rubbed the back of his neck, like he'd been doing a lot lately.

"Uhhh, yeah. I guess I'll...see you tomorrow?"

Vincent nodded. "Sure. I would like that."

Arnold got up from his chair and took care of everyone's empty plates, went around to hug his parents, and then he couldn't help but go over to Vincent to hug him too. Vincent blinked, not expecting that, but gently hugged him back and patted him on the shoulder. "Take care, Arnold."

"Goodnight, everyone." Arnold walked away from the kitchen then, headed toward his room. Alone now, his parents took a deep breath. Miles spoke up first.

"So, Vincent...do you ha-"

"WAIT!" Arnold slid back into the room then, giving everyone a mild jolt. "How did you get back from Paris?"

"Get back from... Ohhh, that's why she had me stand in front of that big green thing. She made it look like I was in Paris. Smart kid..."

"You mean a green screen? That's- wait, wait...she?"

"Yeah, the little girl with the pink bow and the pigtails. Friend of yours?"

Arnold gulped. On top of that grin he made every time he placed another piece of the puzzle that was Helga Pataki, he was blushing again. What a maroon. "...Yes. Yes, she is."

Vincent glanced over at Miles and Stella, who had big knowing smirks on their faces.

"Well, um...anyway, goodnight. Again."

"Goodnight, Arnold," said the adults in unison as Arnold turned and went back to the staircase and passed his favorite grandpa coming down. They paused to exchange goodnights, Arnold went to his room, and Phil walked into the kitchen and sat down with a sigh of relief.

"Don't go in there for a while... So, I miss anything?"

"We were just telling Arnold how Vincent and I knew each other when we were kids."

"You tell him about the Wanky Land incident?" Phil asked with a chuckle. Miles winced.

"...No, I did not. Maybe when he's a little older." Miles rubbed the back of his neck and looked over at Stella, who had no idea what Phil was talking about. When he looked away suddenly, she rolled her eyes and made a mental note to ask him about it later.

Miles cleared his throat. " _Anyway_...Do you have a place to stay tonight, Vincent?"

Vincent's head was low, and he looked down at his hands on the table. "Something like that, I suppose. I have a lot of places now."

"I mean a place that's warm. A place where you can get a good night's sleep." At this, Miles's old friend simply shrugged. "Vincent, how long has it been like this? You have to start taking care of yourself some day. You could have come here, you could have-"

"Eight years."

Miles stopped cold then, his eyes wide and his heart hurting as he realized what that meant. Stella took his hand, but he pulled his hand away, got up from his chair, and walked to the far side of the kitchen. Keeping his back turned to everyone at the table. Phil reached up and scratched his head. "What he means is, you can always come to us for help. Heck, out of all the goofy old friends he ran around with, you were probably the only one we actually liked!"

Vincent nodded slowly, glancing at Phil and then looking back at Miles. "I know that. I just... I knew you were looking after Arnold, and I didn't want to impose. Things were bad between me and Ava, and when she finally kicked me out I was devastated. And do you know my own family blamed _me_ for that? As if I _drove_ her away, like everything was _my_ fault? We were toxic for _each other_ but they didn't see it that way. As far as they were concerned, it was all me. They stopped talking to _me_ because of what happened, Miles. They even fired me from the restaurant. Fired me! They didn't want me _anywhere_ around them. If my own family couldn't accept me, why should I believe _anyone_ would?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, Vince, but did you look for work elsewhere?" Stella asked as gently as she could.

He held up his hands and shrugged. "I tried, Stella. A lot of places, they didn't want me because I never finished my education. Other places, they didn't even care if I had any. They always wanted something that I never had, or they wanted me to have experience I could never get unless I _already_ had experience. No one wanted me _anywhere_ , and the truth is, I still don't really understand why..."

Miles remembered how the Fredricksons were. He swallowed hard before breaking his silence. "...If we had been here, we-"

"Don't blame yourself for this, Miles. You and Stella had important work to do."

Miles snapped back around to look at them, shaking as he spoke. "More important than helping my friends? More important than watching my son grow up? Watching him hit his first homerun, or go on his first date, or learn to ride a bike, or literally save the entire neighborhood!?"

Stella got up and walked over to him, hugging him tight. "Ssshhh... Honey, honey... We don't want Arnold hearing any of this. Now hush, my love... It's okay now..."

Miles closed his eyes and hugged Stella back, crying quietly into her shoulder. How could this have happened? First he failed the Green Eyes, and he failed Eduardo, and he failed his parents, and then he failed Arnold by missing out on ten whole years of his young life. Now he realized that he had also failed one of the best friends he'd ever had. He then took a deep breath to calm himself and pulled away to wipe his eyes on his sleeve before making his way back to his seat at the table. Stella moved her chair right next to his and wrapped one arm around his shoulders, leaning to lay her head against his arm as she held his hand.

"I'm sorry, Vincent."

"Don't be sorry. None of this was your fault. You needed to fly so you could help people who couldn't fly. I understand that more than you know, even if I couldn't fly the way you did."

Miles huffed then and stared at the table in thought for a minute. He knew he couldn't change the past, but he also knew he had to take advantage of the present. How long could Vincent survive like this? He didn't want to think about it. All he knew was that he had to make a better future, and not just for Vincent. He had to ensure that Arnold had a better future as well, and he couldn't do that if he was busy constantly moping around. He didn't help the Green Eyes by dwelling on his own sadness, did he? No, he helped them by taking action. With that thought, he put on the best smile he could muster at the moment and took the first action he could think of.

"Here's what we're going to do. You, my friend, are going to stay here tonight. And maybe longer. Whatever it takes."

Vincent gulped. "I don't know..."

"Long as he doesn't bring any pigeons with him. Last time we had a bird guy staying here, we found out he was hiding thirty chickens in his room," Phil grumbled.

Miles chuckled a little. "Well, Vincent is no Mr. Purdy. Besides, we've got an excellent rooftop. Maybe we can build an aviary or something up there."

Vincent seemed to brighten up at the idea. "You would do that for me?"

"Of course we would," Stella replied. "Actually that sounds like a lot of fun!"

"And we could put a pigeon signal up there too! That way the citizens of Hillwood know how to reach you when evil's afoot!"

Everyone looked at Phil like he just grew a second head.

"Fine, no pigeon signal..."

For the rest of the night, the past was the past. They spent the next few hours going over ideas, planning for the future. Miles didn't cry for all that he felt he'd lost. Stella didn't cry for Miles, wanting to take his pain and sadness away. Phil didn't cry for raspberry muffins. Not loud enough for anyone to hear, anyway.

That night Vincent Fredrickson, known to some as the one and only Pigeon Man, went to bed in a warm room to call his own, fell asleep with his head on a soft, clean pillow, and in his dreams he soared high among the clouds.

* * *

"He's staying at your _house_ now!?" Gerald said a little too loudly. Other kids around the cafeteria turned to look at him, wondering what that was all about.

"Keep it down, Gerald!" Arnold whispered. "I don't think everyone should know about this. The last time everyone figured out where he lived, they ruined all his stuff." Arnold was glad that no one else had come over to sit by them yet, as they were lucky enough to be near the front of the line coming in. Still, as excited as he was to talk about Vincent, whom he knew would probably still be known as Pigeon Man to most of the other kids, Arnold still couldn't help but scan the cafeteria every few moments. Looking for a certain someone.

"Anyway... I honestly can't believe it sometimes. I mean it does make sense, my dad lived here his whole life and my mom has spent a lot of time here too. So it's not that weird that they'd know their way around town, have friends here and there. I just can't believe-"

"Your parents know Pigeon Man," Gerald said in a softer voice now, still wide-eyed.

"And it's like I told you, his name isn't Pigeon Man. It's Vincent."

"Who's Vincent?"

Arnold jumped at that and spun around quickly, but he let out a sigh of relief as Phoebe sat down next to Gerald. "He's...a friend of my parents, that's all." Arnold gave Gerald a 'we can talk about this later' look, and Gerald rolled his eyes.

"By the way, um..." Arnold turned toward Phoebe a bit, who had just moved her chair a little closer to Gerald's before she started carefully eating her lunch. "Where's Helga? She seems to be avoiding me or something." Arnold had noticed her acting odd earlier that day. She didn't say a word to him at the bus stop. Didn't shoot him with spitballs during class. Didn't make fun of him when Mr. Frank called on him to answer a tough algebra question and he got it wrong. She didn't even squirt him at the water fountain. In fact, when he came up behind her at said fountain, she bolted away like he had some extremely contagious virus or something.

"She should be here soon..." Phoebe looked around the cafeteria just as Arnold had done not too long before she arrived, and sure enough there was no sign of her. Just as Phoebe went to pull out her phone it vibrated in her hand. "That might be her." She saw she had just received a text message and sure enough it was indeed her best friend with the permanent scowl, or so she would like everyone else to believe.

 _Helga:_ come eat with me

 _Phoebe:_ Why aren't you in the cafeteria?

 _Helga:_ i can't go in there

 _Helga:_ not yet

 _Phoebe:_ Why not? It's just us.

 _Helga:_ u know why! i just can't ok? sheesh

 _Helga:_ are u typing a freakin essay over there?

 _Phoebe:_ You'll have to talk to him eventually. How else are you going to give him the gift you got him? You don't have to do that right now, or in front of everybody. Just sit and have lunch with us. He won't bite you.

 _Helga:_ I KNOWT HAT PHEOBE

 _Phoebe:_ He misses you.

 _Phoebe:_ ?

 _Phoebe:_ Are you still there?

 _Helga:_ come eat with me

 _Phoebe:_ Where are you? Just come sit with us.

 _Helga:_ i'm in the stairwell. don't worry about bringing me food i brought some from home kinda

 _Phoebe:_ Okay. Just hold on a minute.

Helga sighed and put her phone away. She sat on the stairs and grabbed her _Charlie's Angels_ lunch box, setting it on her lap and opening it. All she had this time was a half-empty, flat old ginger ale that she found in the back of the fridge and a bag of dry, stale old Reptar cereal that no one else was ever going to eat.

She had money for lunch, of course, thanks to Olga insisting on paying for Arnold's gift herself. But that would mean going into the cafeteria, which would mean facing the now depressed boy of her dreams, which she wasn't ready to do. She couldn't risk being mean to him again. She knew if she went in there she'd wind up spilling milk on him, or putting gum on his chair, or lashing out with the insults. Things she didn't want to do to him anymore. Things that only hurt her now when she saw the way he was hurt. As guilty as she felt now, she felt even more guilty that it didn't bother her so much in the old days. She thought back to fourth grade, all the things she did to him then. Sure she felt bad, but not like this. This was different. Arnold was trying to give her what she had always wanted, and here she was impulsively rejecting him at every turn, ironically giving him what she always feared most for herself.

Helga shook her head when she realized what she was doing. Why was she dwelling on all this misery? She was going to change things, dang it. She had a plan in motion to prove how much she cared about him, how sorry she was for the way she'd been acting, and how much she truly did want to be with him.

 _Today's the day,_ she thought. _No more running. No more hiding. I'm doing it._ She smiled wistfully as she imagined how it would play out. In fact, she could practically hear his voice.

"Hey, Helga."

Helga jumped and nearly dropped her lunch box off her lap, catching it in time before its meager contents could spill out. What was _he_ doing here!?

"Sorry, um... What are you doing?" Arnold asked with his hands in his pockets.

Helga sighed and caught her breath with a gulp. "Oh, nothing, just trying to figure out how I'm going to murder Phoebe."

"You can't murder Phoebe," Arnold scolded.

"She's my best friend and I can murder her if I want to, Arnoldo."

Arnold paused. He didn't want to make her more angry or upset than she was already. But he had to know. "How come you're not sitting with us?"

Helga began to panic. A war was raging in her mind as she wondered what her next action would be, unaware of it herself just as much as Arnold was. What would she do? What would she say? "I um...I'm just sick of smelling that rancid...that rancid..." She stared into his eyes for a moment. He knew what she was going to say. Rancid breath of his, or something to that effect. But she didn't say that. She swallowed hard and took a second to think. She couldn't tell him the real reason, but she couldn't insult him either. She glanced down at her lunch box, and a better lie came to mind.

"I...didn't have any lunch money, so...I...brought some old crap from home, and I just...I wanted to eat alone, that's all." She had to break from his gaze at that. It was a good story, given that she couldn't always afford lunch anyway, but she scolded herself on the inside for trading an insult for a lie.

Arnold's heart hurt for her. He knew things were hard for her right now even without him scaring her with all these new feelings between them. He took a deep breath and sat down on the step beside her.

"No, I don't think that's why you're out here."

Helga froze, nervously glaring at him. "What do you mean, that's not why? Look, bucko, I don't owe you an expla-"

"I think you were just a little behind. Maybe you had to go to the bathroom, or the nurse's office, or even the principal's office. I don't know. You don't owe anybody an explanation, right? But you're okay now and you went back to the cafeteria."

Helga blinked and slowly tilted her head. "What the heck are you talking about? Are you going psycho on me now?"

"I just left to go to the bathroom. You got to the cafeteria before I came back and decided to sit down at our table anyway, and since I wasn't there to claim my lunch tray, you took it. After all, if no one's eating it, it's up for grabs."

Helga's eyes widened when she realized what he was getting at. "Arnold..."

"That'll really teach me to leave my stuff unattended. The look on my face when I come back should be priceless. Right?" Arnold smiled over at her, calm as could be. Meanwhile her heart was racing so fast, she was sure if it had feet it could outrun Usain Bolt.

"Arnold, y-you...you don't have to-...it's..."

"I want to, Helga. Just sit with us. Okay? Please. I really want you there. And don't worry about me, I can skip lunch. I had a big breakfast anyway."

Helga smiled nervously and nodded. "Okay. And, hey..."

"Hm?"

"I know I've been a real pain lately, and... Just meet me in City Park, okay? After school. Today."

Arnold was curious about that, but he knew not to press her on it. "Okay then. I'll meet you there."

"Good. Oh, and one more thing," Helga added as she stood up.

"Yeah?"

"You're an idiot. You know that, right?" Helga smirked and crossed her arms, turning to look at him.

Arnold searched her eyes for a moment, and realized that this time there was no malice behind them. He smiled and took a deep breath. "Whatever you say, Helga." She started to head down the stairs, only for Arnold to stand up and call after her, "Hey, Helga."

Helga stopped and turned around, biting her lip for a second so she didn't snap at him. "Yeah...?"

"Are you going to Rhonda's costume party on Saturday?"

Helga swallowed hard and nodded slowly, her heart all a flutter. "I...could..." Was he asking her to go _with_ him? As a friend, or as a _girlfriend_?

She pondered just what costume she could wear. She knew she couldn't do the stupid ballerina thing at the party. However, she remembered her initial plan to mess with Olga, before Olga helped her with Arnold's gift that is, and went with that instead. "I was thinking of being a sort of witch this year."

Arnold got an idea just then and lit up with that familiar big goofy grin. Helga had all she could do not to let out a girlish sigh at the sight of it. "Perfect," replied her football-headed love god.

With that, she walked away toward the cafeteria while Arnold waited in the stairwell, giving her enough time to go in and take his tray. Once she knew she was out of sight, she couldn't help but dance the rest of the way there.

* * *

"And then an eagle walks in and buys a deck of cards!"

Sid and Harold looked at each other, then stared back at Stinky, as they tried to figure out the punchline to a very strange joke he had just told them.

"Aw, c'mon fellas, I worked real hard on this one!"

"I liked the monkey-cat one better," Sid responded with a shrug.

"Gosh, that wasn't even a joke," Stinky sighed, propping his head up with his arm and working his way through the tater tots he had left on his tray. "This really bites..." He always knew he was nothing special, but he hoped maybe he could at least come up with a joke, just one joke, that would really make his friends laugh. But he wasn't good at that neither, turned out. Not like Miss Lila. She was special, he reckoned.

It was then that they heard a familiar evil laugh and turned to look over at Arnold's table. Stinky whispered, "What's going on now?"

"Looks like Helga took Arnold's lunch tray while he was gone. What a slimy little thief." Sid shook his head, pitying the heroic friend who once saved his life.

"Hey, wait a minute! I bet she's the one who stole my pretzels the other day!" Harold said a little too loudly.

"Didn't you steal a ham once?" Sid asked with a laugh.

"So!? That was different!" Harold shouted. "Wait a second... Does this mean Helga has to work for Arnold for a whole week!? What a loser!" Harold laughed loudly and pointed at Helga, but with one quick glare and a flash of her fist, he swallowed his laughter and grimaced. "Madame fortress mommy..."

Bored of Arnold and Helga's latest argument already, the boys turned back to each other and continued eating and talking with their mouths full. "So what are you guys doing after school?"

Harold shrugged. "I don't know. I was gonna see about going to the arcade with Patty but she's busy today." After hearing some light snickers and chuckles from his pals, Harold glared at them and they shut that down real quick.

"How 'bout we go to the park? There's always stuff to do at the park," Stinky suggested with a shrug.

"Sounds good to me. I'll bring Sidney, maybe we can catch a few frogs."

"I got it! Let's see who can throw a football the farthest!" Harold shouts with excitement. "And we can take turns trying to catch it too! Whoever loses has to buy the winner a pizza!"

Sid blinked a couple times, trying to grasp the rules of this bet. "That doesn't seem very well thought out, Harold. Honestly it doesn't even sound all that fun, either."

"WELL TOO BAD 'CAUSE WE'RE DOING IT!" Harold barked with a slam of his fist on the table. "We can catch frogs after, but we're doing my thing first and that's FINAL!"

Sid jumped for a moment and swallowed hard. "S-Sure thing, Harold old chum."

Stinky rolled his eyes. "I guess so."

With that settled, the boys made idle chit chat as they finished their lunches more or less with everyone else. Soon everyone was outside for recess. Sid and Stinky taunted Harold from the top of the jungle gym. Rhonda was talking about boys and planning her big costume party with the other girls. Lila didn't care so much about the gossip, preferring not to participate, but she was ever so delighted to contribute any ideas she could think of for the party. Nadine, only half listening, was observing a line of ants crawling across the picnic table. Sheena was trying to pry Eugene's head out of the monkey bars. Gerald and Phoebe tried to work out costume ideas, but Gerald was too busy flirting and Phoebe couldn't help but blush and giggle.

Arnold was left alone and lonely, as he'd felt for most of the day. But the sadness was mostly gone, and in its place he was full of hope. He smiled as he wondered just what Helga had in store for him at the park.

"Soon, my love," Helga whispered as she watched him from behind the dumpster, holding her locket to her chest with a hopeful smile of her own.


	4. Destiny Calls

**Hearts of Gold**

4\. Destiny Calls

With school done for the day, Arnold was eager to get home. Not that home was where he really wanted to be at the moment, but it brought him that much closer to meeting Helga at the park. The bus dropped him off, he hurried to the Sunset Arms, and walked inside with a spring in his step and purpose in his heart.

"Well hello, Seymour! How was school today?" Arnold's grandma asked, still wearing her white lab coat and black gloves, a lightning-shaped black stripe in her wild grey hair. She was sitting at the table with her weird new potted plant strapped into a high chair, and it sure looked like she was trying to feed it...bacon...?

"Um... It was fine I guess. Where is everybody?" Arnold asked as he looked around briefly.

"Well, Boris and Elsa decided to take Igor to the store to buy a few things, and Dracula is in the garage." She turned her attention back to the plant in the high chair for a moment. "Now enough fussing, you little rascal! Open wide for the good doctor!"

Arnold stared at this bizarre scene for a moment before shaking his head. "Never mind. I know what I'm going to be for Halloween this year. Think you could help me with my costume? I want to learn some new tricks and stuff."

"Why certainly! By the way, how's Audrey doing lately, hmmm?" His grandma asked with a smirk and a knowing twinkle in her eyes. Arnold had to think for a moment to figure out who she meant, since he didn't know any Audrey at his school.

"Oh, you mean Helga!" Once he solved that riddle, he laughed it off nervously. Did his grandma know about his situation with Helga, he wondered? Despite her...quirks, she had often shown herself to be much wiser and more aware of her surroundings than she appeared to be. "I uh, I actually have to leave to go meet her at the park."

"Well, give little Audrey my regards! And I'll be expecting you in the dojo later. We'll get you ready for Halloween after your training."

Arnold winced and rubbed his shoulder. He was still a little sore from shuriken practice. Since seventh grade would mean moving to a new school next year, his grandma insisted on further martial arts training to keep him safe from any new bullies he might encounter. He already knew some karate after being mugged in fourth grade, but in addition to mastering that, Arnold's grandma recommended incorporating elements of other martial arts. So he now had to learn a few techniques from Kung Fu, Jujutsu, and something she referred to as "the path of the Shinobi" which incorporated strange hand signals, stealth tactics, and apparently the ability to fly, turn invisible, and even transform into a tiger.

So far he was not successful with those particular skills.

"Sure thing. Just keep in mind I can't bring any swords or throwing stars to school with me. Anyway, see you later, Grandma."

"Farewell, Seymour!" His grandma turned back to the plant and sighed. "Your big brother is growing up so fast... Oh don't look at me like that! Focus on cleaning your plate, you big baby!"

Arnold rolled his eyes as he heard his wacky grandma talking to the plant again and went out to the garage to grab his bike.

"Hey there, Short Man! Got somewhere to be?" His grandpa asked as he sat on a folding chair, watching a small TV with his feet propped up on an old wooden crate. He was not Dracula.

"Yeah, sorry Grandpa. I'm kind of...expected somewhere soon. What are you up to?"

"I'm just inspecting the Packard, making sure everything's in tip top shape," Phil said with pride, looking back at the monster movie he'd been watching on his little TV screen. He howled with laughter as a chubby kid shot the Creature from the Black Lagoon in the chest with a shotgun.

Arnold looked around the garage and chuckled. "Um, Grandpa... The Packard isn't here. My parents are out shopping with Vincent."

Phil spun around and gasped. "Why, those scoundrels! It was here just a second ago!" He crossed his arms and shook his head. "Dagnabbit, when I get my hands on that son of mine..." He stood up and scratched his head as he took a quick look around the garage. "Well, I don't suppose you could help me clean up here a bit before you run off?"

Arnold stifled a sigh. He wished he could just escape to the park right away, but he couldn't say no. Which his grandpa knew would happen. "Sure. But can we at least hurry a little? I really need to get to the park soon, or Audrey- I mean, Helga might actually bite my head off."

"Well, she always did have a big mouth. I just didn't think it was _that_ big!" Arnold's grandpa could not help but laugh at his own joke. Arnold did not laugh, for Arnold did not find that joke very funny.

"Grandpa..."

"Aw, you're no fun. I guess we'd better get started." With that they got to work. Since he had a little time alone with him, Arnold figured now was as good a time as any to ask Grandpa a question that's been on his mind.

"Hey, Grandpa," he asked as he started moving boxes around. "How do you, um..."

"How do you what, Short Man?" asked Grandpa, who was deliberately taking his sweet time with much less laborious tasks, his eyes looking back at the TV every few seconds or so.

"How do you know when you love someone? I mean...not like someone in your family, you know? I mean like...like..."

This was enough to get Grandpa's full attention. "Like a young lady, eh? I knew destiny would come calling eventually." He chuckled a bit as Arnold nodded slowly, averting eye contact by acting like he was looking for something. "Well, I suppose there's all kinds of things I could tell ya. Can she cook a pot roast? Can she sing and dance like there's no tomorrow? Can she trapeze like-"

"Come on, Grandpa. I'm being serious."

His grandpa shrugged. "Well, the really important questions are the kind you should be asking yourself, not me! For instance, how do you feel when you think about her, how do you feel when you see her, and so on. All that mushy stuff. I guess the one thing I'd say is, ask yourself this: how do you think you'd feel if you lost her?"

Arnold's eyes widened at the thought of it. "Lost her...?"

"That's right, Arnold. How would you feel if she wasn't in your life anymore?"

"I...I'm not sure..."

"What, you never gave it a thought?" Grandpa asked with a knowing smirk.

Arnold swallowed hard. He knew that what his grandpa just said was accurate, that he never even considered the possibility of not having Helga around, but did that mean he loved her? As they kept working, Arnold realized he'd never really imagined losing anybody. He never thought there could be a time without Gerald, or Phoebe, or Eugene, or even Sid, Stinky, and Harold. He was already missing his old teacher, Mr. Simmons, and didn't care very much for Mr. Frank. Did he love all of them, he wondered? The answer seemed obvious at the time. Of course he loved them. These people were such an important part of his life.

But his thoughts returned to Helga, and when he thought about how he'd feel if she was gone, whether that meant she never existed or had to move away or something too horrible for his young mind to think about for very long, he noticed an ache in his chest. A brief reminder of the kind of profound heartbreak and loss that he used to feel before...well, before San Lorenzo.

Arnold shook his head and decided to focus on the reality of the present, and started to work faster and harder. Tools were put away. Dust and dirt was swept up. Screws and nuts and bolts and nails were all sorted into their proper containers. An old magazine was quickly thrown in the trash before Arnold could see it. Before long, the garage was looking much better. It wasn't perfect, but for the most part it was basically clean.

"Thanks for the help, Short Man! Now, you better get a move on before your little friend with the one eyebrow bites your head off!" Once again, Arnold's grandpa laughed. Once again, Arnold was not amused.

Arnold rolled his eyes and grabbed his bike. "See you later, Grandpa. And thanks for the advice." He quickly made his way out to the street and started to race toward the park. While dark thoughts lingered at first, they quickly dissipated as Arnold remembered what was about to happen that day.

Once he put all that hypothetical heartbreak behind him, all he could think about was the very real future in front of him. He imagined how different things were going to be with him and Helga. Or at least, he hoped things would be different. He imagined hanging out with her more often, maybe even going out on dates. They had gone on a sort of double date once, along with Gerald and Phoebe, but Helga was putting up another front. Plus they mixed up restaurants, couldn't pay, and wound up washing dishes. Still, he was excited by the thought of going on a real date, just the two of them. It didn't have to be a restaurant or anything fancy, it could be anything. They could go to the movies, or Slausen's, or even just a walk by the park, or down at the pier. His mind wandered through all the possibilities.

He then realized that, in a way, they had already planned on a date. Sort of. Was going to a party together a date, he wondered? Would they even wind up dancing together? He wasn't sure if she would be up for the idea, but he grinned at the thought of it.

On top of that, he always wanted to get to know her better, sensing for some time that there was more to her than she ever let anyone see, and he felt like he was about to have that opportunity. However he also knew there must be a reason why she never let anyone see past the almost stereotypical bully facade she presented to everyone, and that inspired a bit of worry under all his hope.

How long would it take her to let him in? To let him understand why she's so full of misery? The feeling began to grow that something must be wrong, that she must be hurting inside. But why, he wondered?

Whatever it was that built the fortress around her heart, Arnold hoped that she would open up to him. More than that, he hoped that he could truly help her. As he picked up the pace and sped toward City Park, he was determined to do just that.

* * *

Helga jumped off her bike, bolted into Big Bob's Failure Emporium, and rushed to her room to grab Arnold's gift. She decided to put it in a box from an old piece of junk laptop she found and hoped she had stuffed some crumpled old newspapers inside with it to keep the expensive picture safe. Satisfied with that, she wrapped it in blue wrapping paper and stuck a pink bow on it. She hoped he understood how that would hint at her true feelings, that in her heart they belonged together.

Her heart skipped a beat and she had to pull out her locket, staring into the eyes of her beloved as she had done so many times before.

"Oh, my dear Arnold, my precious love god, how I adore you. How I worship you and long to be by your side forever. Alas, I have nearly ruined what could be my one and only chance at such a future, nearly ruined a love that I know deep in my heart would shine brighter than the brightest sun! But I shall fear not, my beloved, for the sun has not yet vanished below the horizon of total despair! Soon I shall conquer this wretched other half, this fiend that lurks inside me and threatens to destroy us both, and you will finally understand how deeply the flame of you burns within my heart and warms my very soul!"

She let out a blissful sigh and then put her locket away beneath her shirt. She dumped out the contents of her backpack on her bed and carefully tucked Arnold's gift into it, relieved that she could zip it up just enough to keep it safe from falling out.

With that taken care of, she strapped the backpack on and began to carefully sneak through the Emporium. Luckily Bob the Barbarian was in his office. Olga was in her room, chatting away on her phone. No doubt it was probably some new boy toy of hers, maybe even the guy she just met at Budnick's. Confident that she'd make her way out with no distractions, she bolted toward the front of the store.

"Oh, hey Helga! Where are you running off to? Why, I didn't even know you got home, honey." Miriam drifted out of the company break room that they'd been using as their kitchen slash dining area. "How was school today?" She asked with a familiar sort of woozy mumble that meant she'd just had one of her stupid smoothies not long ago.

Helga rolled her eyes. She did not want to deal with this, but she turned to face her shambling mother. "Fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to-"

"I just can't believe it, Helga. You're growing up so fast! You know I remember when I was your age, just starting fourth grade, and-"

"Sixth grade, Miriam. I am in the _sixth_ grade now. Maybe put the smoothies down for a day and you'll start to remember I exist," Helga snapped.

Miriam gulped at that. "Oh. Sixth grade..." Her voice trailed off as she tried to figure out where the years went. She felt bad that she was missing so much of Helga's young life.

She felt even worse that some more distant, more painful memories would never go away.

But she hoped that with Helga and Olga starting to get along, maybe she could finally bond with her youngest daughter too. "Well... I was just thinking, since you went out with Olga the other day, maybe we can have a girl's day out ourselves! Just you and me, anywhere you want. Wouldn't that be nice, honey?"

"Oh yeah, real nice. Who's gonna drive us? You?" Helga remembered the last time she went for a ride alone with her mother, how Miriam fell asleep at the wheel and she couldn't wake her enough to focus. She remembered how scared she was when her mother passed out at the wheel and she had to put the car in neutral, turn on the flashers, and steer the car safely to the side of the road until they slowed down enough for her to put it in park, hoping the entire time that they didn't drift into an intersection or a sharp turn.

Miriam, of course, barely remembered that at all, and could only recall that it even happened because of how Helga and Bob both gave her so much grief about it.

"I can drive, Helga. I just have to be more careful is all."

"You're right. You do have to be more careful. But you won't, will you?" Helga sighed as her mother closed her eyes and lowered her head, her shoulders slumping forward a bit. "I'm going out. I'll try to be back for dinner. And for pity's sake, do us both a favor for once and just leave me alone."

Helga walked out the door and grabbed her bike. She was not going to cry. She'd force herself not to. Today was going to be a good day. Today was going to be the fateful day when she finally won her beloved. She took off fast, leaving her troubles behind her without looking back.

Miriam went back to the break room and started adding ingredients to her blender.

* * *

"Okay, who's throwing first?" Sid asked as they stood in a pretty clear spot in the park with only a few trees and bushes around that could get in their way, mostly near the walking path.

"I am, dummy!" Harold insisted, snatching the football from his paranoid pal in the Beatle boots. "Now start running so I can throw it!"

Sid started running back, trying to keep his eyes on the ball while also making sure his favorite boots weren't busted or tarnished. Granted, these weren't his only pair. After his first pair were stolen by that mugger, he made sure to have a few extra pairs just in case. Still, he did lose one pair in San Lorenzo, and shuddered at the thought of losing another.

The ball landed a few feet in front of him and he slowed to a stop and sighed as he checked his boots for any sign of damage. Once he was sure that they were okay, he walked over and picked up the ball. "Darn it, I almost had it."

Harold called out from the other side of their field. "Hey Stinky! Throw it back this way!"

Sid looked over at Stinky, who had wandered a bit farther away and was busy staring off into the distance. He spotted Lila and her dad out for a walk, reckoned maybe they were celebrating something on account of they looked all excited and happy for some reason. That Lila sure was something, he thought. She was mighty smart, for one thing, and everyone loved her jokes and stories, and to Stinky she was certainly the prettiest girl in class. Of course, he knew all the guys probably thought the same thing. Surely she would never notice a plain, boring young feller such as himself. Lila was special, and if there was one thing Stinky knew, he was nothing special.

"Hey, stupid! Are you gonna throw the ball or what!?"

Harold's voice shook Stinky out of his somber mood and he turned around to look for the ball. But he didn't have to look hard. Sid, standing right next to him now, was holding the football out to him.

"You uh...okay there, Stink? Buddy? You kinda zoned out there for a minute."

"I'm fine, I suppose. Reckon I just got lost in my head." Stinky took the football from Sid and stared at it for a moment. He may not be special, but he wondered if maybe, just maybe, he could win that dumb contest by throwing that there football so far that neither Sid nor Harold could possibly beat him. Then at least he'd have something to feel good about.

He looked out at Harold, narrowed his eyes, ran back a few more feet, and he threw that football with all his might.

* * *

Helga walked up to the bench and put her bike behind it before taking her seat, pulling Arnold's gift out of her bag and setting it down on the bench next to her. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, and looked around the park from where she sat. She noticed the guard rails along the walking path were gone, though she was never really sure why they were there in the first place.

She turned to look down the path on one side of her, then on the other side. No Arnold, so far. She gulped and glanced down at the box beside her, and her heart started beating more quickly. She nervously tapped her fingers on her knee and then rushed to pull out her phone.

"Come on, Phoebe, let Geraldo miss you for a few minutes and pick up the dang phone. Criminy..."

"Kon'nichiwa, Helga-chan! Ogenki desu ka?" Phoebe asked in a cheery tone. Helga overheard Tall Hair Boy say in the background, "You gotta teach me that some day!"

Helga rolled her eyes. "Listen, I'm at the park waiting for Arnold and I'm- ...He can't hear me, can he?"

"No, Helga. Is something wrong?"

"I just... I'm freaking out a little. My heart says I should just sit and wait and go through with it. But my head says I'm crazy for thinking this will work, and my body wants to just get up and run as far as possible!"

"It's okay, Helga. This is a big step for you and it's understandable that you would be nervous."

"Nervous isn't the word for it, Pheebs! I'm losing my mind over here!" Helga stood up and started pacing along the path in front of the bench. "What if he doesn't like it? What if he's mad at me? Heck, I don't even know for sure if he'll show up!"

"Are you sure, Helga? I mean..."

"Just what _do_ you mean, Phoebe?" Helga snarled.

"I mean, even though you took his lunch, it seemed as though he stopped being mad at you fairly quickly once he sat down. Almost as if he knew you were going to take it."

Helga thought back to what happened earlier that day, and her heart skipped a beat. Phoebe was right. Again. "I forgot about that. Yeah, um... That whole thing was his idea, actually..."

"See? Arnold's not mad at you, Helga. He missed you today and he wanted you to sit with us, so he went out to talk to you."

"Oh yes, he came to talk to me. Only because you sent him instead of coming yourself!"

"I didn't send him. I got up to go find you and he asked he where you were. He insisted that he go in my place. Helga, it sounds like you're trying to make up excuses not to see him. Don't you want to give Arnold the gift you got him?"

Helga paused and sat back down on the bench, looking at the ground. "Of course I do...but..."

"But...?"

"What if he doesn't..."

"Helga, he's going to love it, I'm sure. It's absolutely beautiful, and very thoughtful. Arnold will definitely apprecia-"

"What if he doesn't like me? As in _like me,_ like me?" Helga said more quietly now, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "Am I being crazy right now? I know he kissed me, and he's been so nice to me, but... I'm scared, alright? It's scary..."

Phoebe waited before responding, trying to figure out just what to say. "Are you being crazy... Yes and no. I say no because things of this nature are indeed scary and often times difficult. There is some risk involved with opening up like this, and it's completely understandable. And yet, I also say yes, you are being a little crazy because... It's Arnold. You know him. Do you think he's capable of hating you?"

Helga slouched where she sat and gave a gentle sigh of relief. "I know it's easy for most people...but... I guess you're right. Arnold isn't like everyone else."

"No, he isn't," Phoebe replied in a soft, soothing tone. "Give him a chance. Give _yourself_ a chance."

"Thanks, Pheebs. You know he did kind of invite me to Rhonda's party." A smile started to form as she recalled the look he gave her when she said yes.

"That's great, Helga! You see? You're worried over nothing, I truly believe that. Arnold will totally understand."

Helga closed her eyes and grinned as a fantasy played out in her mind, one of Arnold sweeping her off her feet and spinning her all around and kissing her and confessing how deeply and madly in love he is, all the while Phoebe continued to console and advise her.

She didn't see the football flying through the air in her direction.

She didn't hear Harold charging toward her, his head turned back to watch the ball as it began its descent. Didn't hear him yelling, "I got it! I got it!"

"Phoebe, you're the best, you know- ...Ugh, who the heck is-"

Harold, completely unaware of what was in front of him, suddenly crashed onto the bench next to Helga, his full weight landing on the box containing the expensive gold frame which housed the beautiful photo of Arnold with his parents.

Helga dropped her phone onto the ground beside her and let out an ear-shattering scream.


	5. Destiny Answers

**Hearts of Gold**

5\. Destiny Answers

"Helga? Helga what's wrong!?" Phoebe asked as she heard Helga scream, and then more screaming from a voice she swore sounded just like Harold Berman. Then both voices became distant as Helga unleashed a torrent of insults and threats that made Phoebe's eyes widen.

"Oh my..." She hung up her phone immediately and looked at Gerald, who was sitting beside her in her family's dojo. He had been admiring one of their beautiful swords, his primary reason for hanging out in the dojo, but hearing the rather horrifying sounds coming from the phone beside him, he sat still and stared at her.

"What's going on?"

"There's something wrong with Helga. May I please borrow your phone for just a moment? I have to call Arnold." She spoke with an urgency that was uncommon for her, catching him off guard.

"Why do you need my phone?"

"It's charging in my room because it's too low on battery. Please, Gerald, it's an emergency!"

Gerald shrugged and handed it over to her, knowing he could trust her not to break it. Or snoop through it. She went to his contacts list and dialed Arnold, standing up to pace the floor as it rang.

"Hey, Gerald. I'm kind of busy right-"

"Arnold, it's Phoebe. Listen, Helga is at the park. I was on the phone with her and something happened. She screamed, and I think maybe she's attacking Harold or something. It sounds really bad, Arnold. I've never heard her like this."

Arnold gasped. "That was her!? I just heard it! I'm almost at the park now!"

"Please hurry!"

"I will!" Arnold hung up the phone and Phoebe sat down, handing the phone back to Gerald and staring off into the distance. Gerald crossed his arms and shook his head.

"Poor Harold."

Phoebe slowly turned to look at him. She rarely glared the way she did at Gerald just then. "Excuse me?"

Gerald held his hands up defensively and leaned back. She sounded a little too much like Field Marshal Phoebe for his comfort. "Easy now... I'm just saying, knowing Helga, she's probably not chasing him anymore. I bet she caught him, and I bet he winds up in the hospital."

"Gerald, today is really important for her. Whatever just happened, she wouldn't be going after Harold right now if she didn't have a good reason. It's not like she was _looking_ for a fight today."

Gerald nodded slowly, understanding where she was coming from. "Alright, then. I get it. Maybe the big guy had it coming. Still, I bet he's hurting right about now."

Phoebe kept staring at him, but her frustrated expression turned to one of dread. He was probably right. Helga did have a slight tendency toward violence at times. Mostly toward Brainy, for some reason, but occasionally she would threaten her way down a hall or through a lunch line. In fact, that's mostly all Helga really did. She'd threaten people, but rarely went through with it beyond the occasional shove here and there. Most of the time her bullying methods were more harmless pranks, insults, and general rudeness. However, this felt different for some reason. Because Helga didn't just sound angry. She sounded hurt.

Phoebe worried that this time Helga wasn't going to hold back.

* * *

Arnold pedaled as fast as he could, riding along the path and listening for any signs of Helga or Harold. Soon he saw Sid and Stinky running toward him, their faces full of fear. He slammed on the breaks and put his foot down.

"She's...gone crazy, Arnold! Don't go...back there!" Sid shouted, stopping to bend over and put his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

"She's...going to...going to kill Harold!" Stinky joined in as he stopped in front of Arnold and then let himself drop down to the grass, leaning back on his arms to rest.

"Where are they!?" Arnold yelled as he tried to ignore the knots in his stomach. Stinky pointed back to where they came from, and immediately Arnold took off down the path in that direction. He could already hear them. When he finally found them, Helga was standing over Harold. Screaming at him. Kicking him in the ribs, in the stomach. She held him down with one hand and kept punching him over and over in the head and face with the other. At some point he threw up over on the grass, but that didn't stop her. Harold cried out and begged her to stop, but she wouldn't stop.

"Helga!" Arnold called out to her as he practically jumped off his bike and ran toward them. "Helga, stop!" He ran up beside her and wrapped his arms around her to try and pull her away from him. She thrashed around in his grasp and growled like a raging animal.

"GET OFF ME! LET ME GO, YOU-"

Helga shoved Arnold away and turned toward him, fists at her side, her knuckles on one hand already bruised and blistered. Bits of Harold's blood, and maybe her own too, marked them as well. All Arnold could see, however, were the tears streaming down her face as her expression shifted from furious anger to shock. And then despair.

"Arnold...Arnold, I..." She trembled as she looked down at the beaten, whimpering mess before her. She watched Arnold crouch down, help Harold sit up, and look him over. He'd have a nasty black eye for sure, plenty of bruises, and blood trickled down his busted lip and from a gash in his temple. Sid and Stinky slowly, cautiously walked up to the scene. Arnold looked over at them, and back at Harold.

"Harold, listen... It's okay now..." Arnold said quietly, patting his back to try and get him to calm down at least a little. "Sid and Stinky are going to take you away from here, okay?"

Harold nodded and tried to catch his breath enough to talk. "It w-was an...an accid-dent, Arn-no-nold...I d-didn't m-mean to," Harold sobbed, trying to catch his breath. Arnold tilted his head and glanced at Helga, not sure what that meant. When he saw the pain and the guilt written on her face, he had to look away from her. She kept staring at them as if she was looking right through them, not seeing them at all. Her hands and her knees shook as the tears kept flowing. She was too stunned to do anything more.

Arnold looked over at Sid and Stinky. "Take him home." Nodding, they helped Harold up and started walking with him, each of them at one side, trying their best to comfort him.

As Arnold stood up from the ground, he slowly turned to look at Helga once more. Her lip began to tremble, and she started running. "Wait!" Arnold called out as he ran after her. "Helga, stop!"

All she wanted was to get away. Get away from Harold. Get away from her precious gift to her beloved, now ruined in its box. Get away from that stupid park. Most of all, she had to get away from Arnold. It wasn't the first time she ran away from him. But in her heart, she feared it may be the last. She feared that he would give up chasing her.

But he didn't.

"Helga, please, just tell me what happened!"

She suddenly froze in place, and he slowed to a stop just in time to avoid crashing into her. Her blood began to boil. She spun around and stomped toward him now. "What happened, Arnold...? What happened!? YOU WANT TO SEE WHAT _HAPPENED,_ ARNOLD!?"

She stomped right past him, back toward the bench. Arnold followed her as his heart began to race. Something about the way she said his name worried him. She didn't call him Football Head, or Arnoldo, or Bucko, or even Paste-for-brains. As they got closer, he noticed something he hadn't before. A blue box, decorated with a pink bow. Helga grabbed it and tossed it at his feet.

"Look, Arnold. Look what that...that... Look what he did!"

He picked up the box and sat on the bench while Helga stood in front of him, eyes closed. Unable to watch as Arnold carefully tore the blue wrapping paper and pulled it away from the box. From the pretty bad dent in it, Arnold was able to piece together what must have happened. He slowly opened the box and started to pull out the old newspapers that Helga stuffed in there to keep his gift safe.

Helga let out a soft whimper as a few pieces of broken glass fell out, clinking on the wooden bench before falling through the cracks. She turned her back to him and took a few steps away, standing on the other side of the walking path as Arnold pulled out the ruined token of her affection.

He held in his hands a photo of himself, sitting on the dock, with his parents on either side of him. He remembered that day, from the taste of the cotton candy they'd eaten to the warm summer breeze blowing through his hair. He remembered how happy and content he felt, and how his heart felt full of love.

But the photo was bent, and there was a small tear in it, and it was partially obscured by a web of broken glass. Pieces of which fell down to his lap. The gold frame, beautiful but delicate in design, was broken in two places and bent on one side. As Arnold looked it over, however, he thought about how it was supposed to be. He thought about Helga's intentions with it. It was then he understood why this was so important to her, why she attacked Harold the way she did.

In that moment, his heart was as full as the day the photo was taken.

"Helga...I..."

"Shut up!" She shouted, having spun around and walked back over to him, standing close enough to put her finger in his face. "I already know, so just shut up, okay!? Criminy, why are you always talking!?"

"...What? I just-"

"You're just going to say it! You're really going to say it, aren't you!? You stupid, airheaded jerk! I...I can't believe...You probably see me as a monster, don't you? Don't you!? I'm just this pathetic, miserable wretch of a human being who only knows how to hurt people! Even the people I care about! That's all I'm ever going to be, isn't it Arnold!? Say it! Say how you feel, get it over with so I can go!" Helga trembled and she kept fidgeting nervously with her hands.

"Say what? Please, I don't under-"

"SAY THAT YOU HATE ME!" Helga finally screamed out at him.

The silence between them was brief, but it seemed like an eternity had passed between them. Arnold stared deeply into her eyes. Her big, beautiful blue eyes. To him they resembled brilliant sapphires, though they sparkled like the finest diamonds. Those were the eyes through which she saw him every day. Those were the eyes that watched him grow up from a lonely preschooler to the young man he was becoming, and loved him for every moment of it. But in that moment, with that broken picture in his hands, those tear-filled eyes reflected only the pain of a broken heart.

Something he couldn't bear to see for a moment longer.

Helga stared at him, beginning to hyperventilate, and opened her mouth to speak. But no words came out, for Arnold suddenly dropped the picture, stood up, and warmly embraced her. He held her against him for a few moments before he answered her.

He whispered, "I'll never hate you, Helga. Never."

Like an enormous weight had just been lifted from her, all the tension in her body faded away as she laid her head against his shoulder and quietly sobbed there, releasing all her pain, all her sorrow. As the demons that haunted her were slowly exorcised from her soul, she felt nearly weightless in his arms. She felt her knees buckle, and slowly the two of them sunk down to the ground. With her face now pressed against his chest, he began to softly stroke her head as he held her there. She slowly wrapped her arms around him in return, pulling him closer as he rubbed her back, which still heaved and shook with every sob and whimper.

"I'm s-so...sorry...I..."

"Shhh...it's okay," Arnold whispered. "Just breathe...take slow, deep breaths, okay? I'm here, and I'm not running away..."

She nodded and started to do as he said, inhaling slowly and then letting it all out. She did this a few times, and eventually she stopped shaking and her cries softened. She hadn't noticed before, but Arnold had been gently rocking her in his arms. As she finally started to calm down, they sat there together in peace. Still holding each other close. In that moment, two hearts beat as one.

"Arnold...?" She said with a small, quiet voice.

"Yes, Helga?"

"Are you sure you're not an angel?"

His heart grew three sizes at that, not expecting that question at all. He thought about what to say for just a moment, and then simply smiled and shook his head. "Afraid not. I'm just Arnold."

She let out a sigh of contentment. "You're such a Football Head..."

He then took a deep breath of his own. "Let's get up and sit on the bench now, okay?"

She nodded, but she didn't want to let go just yet. She hugged him a little tighter, wanting to savor this moment, and he did the same in return. Finally they stood. Arnold bent down to pick up his ruined gift, and with his arm around her they sat down on the bench together.

Helga looked down at her hands and winced. The one she had used to clobber Pink Boy was throbbing and swollen now, but what bothered her the most was knowing how she had used them both. How she held him down and hit him with such brutality, and in front of Arnold no less. She had to close her eyes, unable to look at them anymore, and she wrapped her arms around herself.

Arnold could tell this wasn't over and kept rubbing her back to remind her he was still there, but when he felt the vibrating in his jacket pocket, he knew he had to take care of something.

"That's probably Phoebe trying to see if you're alright."

Helga didn't respond.

"I know you're hurting right now. I just want you to know there's no rush, okay? Just take all the time you need, and when you're ready to talk about all this, we can talk. I'm not going anywhere, okay?" Arnold rubbed her back in circles as she nodded slowly. "In the meantime, I just have to tell Phoebe that I'm here, and you're okay. It'll only take a second..."

Helga nodded again without saying a word, and he got up to walk a few feet away from her. Still, he made sure he could see her from where he stood. Arnold pulled out his phone to see more than a dozen missed calls. Most of them were indeed from Phoebe, but he also missed two calls from home. He winced a little at that and started to dial them, but before he could his phone vibrated with another call from Helga's worried friend.

"Hi, Phoebe," he answered.

"What's going on, Arnold? Is Helga alright?"

"Don't worry, I found them. Harold is...in rough shape. Sid and Stinky took him home. And...Helga isn't doing too good either, but she's starting to calm down now. She's doing better. She just needs a minute to compose herself and try to think about whatever it is she wants to tell me."

Phoebe paused before she spoke again. "What happened?" Arnold proceeded to fill her in on the whole thing. He told her about the gift, and how Harold must have ruined it somehow, and how Helga went ballistic and beat him up. He told her how she yelled at him, begged him to admit how he hated her. Arnold couldn't tell over the phone, but Phoebe felt a chill as she heard all this. Her chill gave way to warmth, however, as Arnold kept talking. As he told her what he said to Helga, how he would never hate her, and told her how he held her until she stopped crying.

"Arnold?" Phoebe finally said after Arnold finished talking.

"Yeah...?"

"She really loves you."

Arnold had to look back at her. She had pulled her legs up onto the bench and folded her knees in front of her chest, wrapping her arms around them. Still, as if knowing he was watching her, she turned her eyes toward him. Their eyes locked and Arnold slowly smiled.

"Yeah. I know she does," Arnold almost whispered. "I have to go now, okay? I'll let you know when Helga gets home. Maybe you can call her, keep her company for a little while."

"I'll try. Thank you, Arnold."

They both hung up and Arnold took a brief moment to call his Grandpa and let him know he was doing something important and that he'd be home later. He asked him to let his parents know too, and with that he hung up once more, put his phone back in his pocket, and returned to the bench beside Helga. She lifted her head and eyed him cautiously.

"Phoebe was worried about you, but I let her know you're okay now."

She nodded and took one last deep breath, putting her legs back down and folding her hands in her lap. "First, I just...I'm sorry about Harold, okay? He did...ruin your present, but it... I guess it was just an...an _accident_ or whatever..."

"I didn't think he would break it on purpose. You know you'll have to apologize to him, right?"

She huffed at first, but with a glance in his direction she saw that Arnold-the-peacemaker look in his eyes, and so she relented. "Yeah, I know. That's the crazy thing... I was trying to apologize to _you_ today."

Arnold's eyes widened a bit. Was that why she did all this? Was that why she tried to give him that picture, in that nice frame and everything? "What do you mean, Helga?"

"Don't be dense, Arnoldo. I... I've been a real jerk to you, okay? Don't think I didn't notice how depressed you've been. I never wanted you to be sad, I just... It's a habit, and it's hard to break. I've been doing it so long, I feel like it's who I really am now. That's why I...why I thought..."

"Thought I would hate you."

"Yeah. I knew I had to show you I didn't really mean all that stuff, and I wanted to give you something nice to prove that I...that I really do care about you. A lot, actually." Helga's hands were too sore from earlier for her to roll her thumbs around in her lap like she often did when she was feeling vulnerable and nervous, so she shifted her feet around on the ground instead.

"Arnold, you were the first really good thing that happened to me, the first good person that I remember having in my life. No one ever cared about how I felt or what I wanted or what I had to say. You were the first one to be different, and... I know you're used to helping people, but you have no idea what that meant to me. What that _still_ means to me. But I was scared that you would..."

"That I would what?" He asked with a small voice, putting his hand on her back again.

"Reject me. Like everyone else always does. And when I saw how sad you were, I knew I messed up big time. I honestly thought you were going to run as far away from me as possible, so I had to...find a way to show you how I really feel."

He sat in silence for a moment, and she didn't know what kind of reaction to expect from him. She did not expect him to laugh, though.

"Okay, _what the heck_ is so funny to you?"

Arnold's laughter slowed to a stop and he just sighed and shrugged with a big grin on his face. "Helga, you didn't have to give me anything. I know how you feel already."

Helga just stared at him. "So...you...?"

"I wasn't sure why you were still being so mean, but that's because _I knew_ that wasn't how you really felt. I didn't understand why you were still doing it because you _already_ showed me how much you love me. I laughed because here you were trying to give me a nice picture of my parents, but you didn't need to. And you know why?"

She gulped a little at that. "Why...?"

"Because if wasn't for you, this picture could never have been taken. You didn't need to give me this picture because _you gave me my parents_. And even before that, I thought about all the other things you did for me over the years. You built a parade float for me. You helped me get over Lila. You've always been there for me, and maybe it took me a while to notice, but here I am, sitting on the same park bench where we found our weird little egg baby, and I'm telling you that _I see you_ for who you really are underneath. And I'm not running away."

Helga gasped. She forgot all about that stupid egg. How many other things did he remember?

"Before I came here, I...had to ask my grandpa something." Arnold shifted a little and looked away, his face turning red now. She wondered why he was getting nervous all of a sudden. "I asked him, how...how do you know you love somebody? And then he asked me how I would feel if you weren't in my life anymore, for whatever reason. And...honestly?"

Helga waited with baited breath, still as a stone statue.

"I...I have never imagined a life where you were not part of it. And I don't want to."

For the first time since Hurricane Harold came crashing into her life that day, a smile formed on her face. "Really...?"

"Really."

She could have melted at that half-lidded gaze he gave her as he said that. But Helga's smile started to fade a little with a realization: Harold was probably going to tell everyone what happened. She'd be in a world of trouble. In fact she would be lucky if the police didn't get involved. Either way, she did have school the next day, and if everyone was already wary of her, surely they would all hate her now.

"What is it?"

"It's...everything. I just realized tomorrow is going to be really, really lame." Helga shrugged then and lowered her head once more. "What can I do, though? I can't change what happened..."

Arnold thought for a moment, and an idea came to him. He gulped and took a deep breath, and in a gentle voice he began to sing.

"When life gets you down, wearing a frown... Don't look away, look up..."

Helga raised her brow at that and tilted her head. "What...are you _doing_...?"

"Because memories true come out of the blue, you know the way, look up..."

Helga's eyes widened as it dawned on her what was taking place. _My love...is singing to me! I think I'm gonna die!_

"When skies are gone gray, things gone astray, don't hide away...?" Arnold paused as he stared at her. She swallowed hard and replied, "Look up...?"

Arnold smiled and nodded as he continued, singing it almost like a lullaby. "When you're feeling under the weather, and the dark clouds are getting to you... Make your troubles light as a feather, and soon you'll be seeing a bright patch of blue. You...gotta look up, you gotta be strong, gotta take things as they come..."

Slowly, Arnold reached over and very gently took Helga's hand. She didn't pull away.

"'Cause everything new that happens to you is better when you..."

Helga's smile returned as she nodded with understanding. "Look up." She took a deep breath and did just that. The sky was clear, and the sun was low, casting part of the sky in shades of pink and orange and purple.

"So when did you learn to sing mushy stuff like that?" Helga asked with a tiny smirk.

"My grandma taught me that song, actually. And you knew I could sing. You gave me and Gerald the biggest parts in your play."

Helga snickered then. "You don't still fit in that banana suit, do you?"

Arnold rolled his eyes. "I sure hope not."

Helga looked down at their hands, and stroked his with her thumb. "You better have my back tomorrow, bucko." She looked back up at him, hoping she knew that she didn't mean that in a hostile way. From the warm smile he gave her, it was clear that he knew.

"Of course. Whatever happens, I'll be with you, and I promise I'll do anything I can to help."

For the first time in a while, her worries were gone. She didn't know how long this feeling would last, but for now any doubt she had about Arnold had drifted away like leaves on the autumn wind. Despite all the odds, she had won the day, and she had finally won that annoyingly optimistic Football Head's heart. As she looked into his eyes, and he looked into hers, she thought that this must be what love felt like.

Arnold could stare at that smile forever, he thought. And with that thought came an idea. He pulled out his phone again and opened his camera, holding it up and pointing it at her just in time to see her smile give way to blushing nervousness.

"Um, what...why are you...?"

"I have a bunch of pictures with my parents now, but I don't have any of you. Now, where's that smile?"

Helga's jaw dropped. Was he being serious right now? He wanted _her_ picture? The thought never occurred to her. Aside from the yearbook photos everyone was required to show up for, no one ever wanted her picture without Olga or her parents in it. Even then, the idea that Arnold would want one was completely unexpected. Insane, actually. Then again, the whole day worked out differently than she had planned.

"Criminy, would you just smile already? Sheesh!" Arnold said with a roll of his eyes. Helga burst out laughing at that, and Arnold laughed along with her. When their amusement subsided, her smile was bigger than before, her eyes shining more brightly than Arnold had ever seen them.

She was perfect.

He adjusted the focus and snapped a few shots just to account for any that might be a little blurry. He checked each shot, found the best one, and deleted the rest. As he looked over the photo, looked at her golden hair, and her sparkly blue eyes, and her loving smile, he knew he'd try as hard as he could to make her smile like that each and every day.

"Hey, Arnold?" At that, Arnold looked up and put his phone away.

"Yes, Helga?"

Helga leaned toward him, and for the first time since FTI invaded their neighborhood, she kissed him square on the lips. Only she wasn't rough and full of feverish passion. Though her lips lingered for a few moments, and she reached up to put her good hand on his cheek, she was gentle with him. And this time, he kissed her return. When at last they pulled away, they embraced once more. And at last, Helga whispered three words she has always wanted to say to him.

"I love you..."


	6. Beyond Words

**Hearts of Gold**

6\. Beyond Words

The ride to the Beeper Emporium was a quiet one. The streets were mostly empty as most people were probably at home either preparing or eating dinner by now. Sheet ghosts danced in the wind, hanging from trees and street lights. Grinning jack-o-lanterns watched from stoops as Arnold and Helga rode their bikes side by side, each stealing the occasional glance at the other. Sometimes they would turn their eyes to each other at the same time, catching each other in the act, and each time their blushed faces grew redder. Secretly they hoped they would catch each other every time, but they never voiced these feelings out loud.

They didn't need to.

When they reached the run down electronics store that Helga called home, her expression of quietly nervous joy became solemn and gloomy. She hated that big dumb sign, the way the neon letters flickered and buzzed now. She sighed as they came to a stop, and Arnold reached over to touch her arm.

"You know, I bet if I talked to my grandpa..."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't bother. I tried to get Bob to do that ages ago. Moron wouldn't budge. He literally said he'd rather live in the store than some crusty old relic full of whackos. Joke's on him though. He wound up doing that anyway."

"I don't think you're a whacko, Helga." Arnold rubbed her arm up and down, and she glanced down at his hand before looking up at him, her smile returning a little. Or was that a smirk?

"You haven't seen my room yet," she replied with a raised brow. She pondered the idea of actually showing him her shrine one day.

"Yet?" Arnold shot back with that half-lidded gaze that always made her heart skip a beat. Only this time as she realized what she accidentally implied, her face went crimson.

"I...I mean, um... Oh no, is Bob calling? Looks like I better go, see ya tomorrow, heheh!"

"Helga."

"Criminy..." She growled and crossed her arms with a huff. "Maybe, _maybe_ , I will let you see my room someday. Okay? Just don't expect anything fancy. We can't all have super high tech rooms with sky lights and remote-controlled couches and all that other crap _you_ have." As Arnold wondered just how Helga knew that much about his room, she was just glad he wasn't asking anymore questions about hers.

On top of the poems and the artwork that lined her walls, and the shrine she kept in her closet which contained a hidden entrance to her base of operations for all thing Football Head, she still needed to clean the place. Dirty clothes and blankets and even some trash from empty bags of pork rinds and Yahoo soda bottles. As much as she wished she hadn't cleaned it just to spite her father, or for some other clever scheme, the truth was she always hoped deep down that they would move back to her old house one day, or at least somewhere better than a glorified closet in a crappy electronics store.

"Alright, Helga." He got off his bike, setting it down in the parking lot, and saw her start to walk her own bike behind the store. He went up and touched her shoulder then, reaching for the handlebars.

"I can take it, Helga."

"Sheesh, you are such a knight in shining armor," she said as she brushed his hand away from the bike. "I don't need you to put it away for me, I'm a big girl and I can do it myself."

Arnold shrugged and stepped back, stifling a laugh. "Whatever you say, Helga."

"That's right, Bucko. Whatever _I_ say." As she walked her bike behind the store and put it back in its hiding place behind the dumpster, a massive grin formed on her face. After she quickly checked her surroundings to make sure she wasn't being watched, she pulled out her locket and began to dance around with joy.

"Yes yes yes! He loves me! He loves me!" she mouthed silently, wanting to cry out to the heavens but knowing she couldn't do so with him right around the corner.

Only, as she spun around in her dance, she realized far too late that he wasn't right around the corner. He was right there, watching her. Huge knowing smirk on his face, arms crossed.

Helga quickly stuffed her locket away. "Uhhh... Oh, just take a picture, it'll last longer!"

"I'm considering it." There was that handsome gaze again. She couldn't stop herself from releasing her girlish high-pitched sigh of adoration, only to cover her mouth with her hand right after. Arnold walked up to her as she shuffled her feet nervously, like she was shy or something. He rubbed the back of his neck, still in disbelief that he could make anyone feel that way, let alone Helga. It wasn't like he had much luck in the romance department before.

"I uh, I didn't know you could dance like _that_." Of course, that wasn't entirely true. Arnold remembered dancing with her one April Fool's Day. And yet, it wasn't so much the dancing that interested Arnold. It was the feeling behind it. The way _he_ made her feel deep down inside.

Helga scoffed nervously. "Yeah, well... I didn't know you'd look so good with a pink backpack. So."

Arnold glanced over his shoulder at Helga's backpack. She didn't expect him to actually want to keep the broken gift, but he did. Unsure of how he'd carry it home on his bike, she suggested letting him borrow her backpack as long as he gave it back to her on the way to school the next day. He wished he had a new one to give her to replace this old one. One of the straps was ripping, a zipper on one of the pockets was busted, and there was even a hole near the bottom that threatened to get bigger if it carried too much weight.

"Thanks for reminding me. Do you need to get some homework out first before I go?"

She paused to stare at him. She didn't want him to go, but she knew he had to. She also didn't want him to have to witness her jerk of a father in one of his nasty moods. She could see it now, him storming out to yell at her for being gone so long, demanding she come inside. "No, I left all that crap in my room earlier. I'll just use a grocery bag or something until tomorrow morning. And you _better_ have my bag with you." As she spoke, she started to walk back around to the front, and Arnold walked with her.

"Don't worry, I will."

Helga looked at the doors, not moving. She reached over to take his hand again, not realizing she was reaching with the hand she used to beat up Harold earlier. She quickly pulled her bruised and swollen hand away and winced as another round of pain shot through her pain and up her arm a bit.

"Should I go in and take care of that, Helga? I really don't mind."

"It's alright. I know how to take care of things like this. It's not like Miriam ever tended the King's wounds when he got in another dumb fight or put another dumb hole in the wall."

Arnold swallowed hard. Was Helga even safe here? He knew Bob was a...difficult man, but he never considered just how much rage he might be capable of, and as such he never considered the possibility of him taking that rage out on her. As the thought seeped into his brain, it almost made him ill.

Helga noticed the look on his face and sighed. "Relax, he knows better than to pull _that_ crap with us."

Arnold nodded slowly, but the worry didn't fade as quickly as he hoped it would. Helga looked back at the doors, wondering what she'd be walking into. Wondering where her mom was passed out this time, and whether or not Bob was screaming at his phone or watching TV, and whether or not Olga was prancing around all gaga over some boy or back in the kitchen. At that thought, she felt her stomach begin to growl and gurgle.

"I should go in though, so I'm not stuck without dinner again."

An idea came to Arnold's mind then. "You should come over for dinner some time."

"...Are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious, Helga. It'll be fun! Especially if I can figure out how to keep the boarders away. Then it would just be my parents and my grandparents. And my pig Abner, but he's a good boy."

"Oh, I bet he is," Helga snarled slightly, remembering how far she had to run to get her locket back after that little pink pest ran away with it down the street.

"You know, my family has asked about you."

"Really...?" Helga's eyes widened at this information.

"Yeah. My grandma asked about you before I left to meet you, actually. Although she did call you Audrey. And I'm Seymour now, apparently."

"What, is she over there feeding human flesh to some kind of singing monster plant?"

That's when Arnold's eyes widened. "I...I think it's just bacon, actually... How did you...?"

"Oh, brother. Never mind. I guess I could visit the little boarding house of horrors some time. Anything's better than moving the same stupid boxes around in this dump just so Bob can pretend I was useful."

"Excellent! I'll talk to my parents about it and then we can make plans. I should just give you my phone number first. It's-"

Helga rolled her eyes. "I already have it..."

"Oh... So, how come you never...?"

She looked away and shrugged. "I didn't think you'd answer."

Hearing that saddened Arnold and he frowned somewhat. He never realized how scared she truly was. How long was she afraid like this? How many times did she want to approach him in good will and decide not to, or cover it with her usual bullying facade? In fact, was it even a facade? Or could it have been an impulse, something she didn't even mean to do but found herself doing spontaneously?

He stepped closer to her and embraced her in a warm hug. "You can always call me or text me. Any time. From now on, try not to worry so much, okay?"

She couldn't believe this. Was she dreaming? How many times was he going to hug her today? She hugged him back and nodded as she felt the warmth growing in her heart. "Okay. I'll... I'll text you later, so you have my number too."

"Good." Arnold punctuated their hug by kissing her on the cheek, and for a moment he swore he could hear her emit a tiny joyful squeak before they parted. Based on how red her face was, he assumed he was correct in that assumption. "See you tomorrow, Helga. And I'll be waiting for that text."

"Yeah, yeah, I won't forget," she said with her usual sarcastic tone, but she was still beaming from the kiss on her cheek. "Bye, Arnold." She turned and pulled the door to the Beeper Emporium open, starting to walk in. But she stopped. She had to turn around and take one last look at him as he walked away back to his bike.

He wasn't walking away. He was right where he stood.

She ran back over to him, hugged him tight, and kissed his cheek in return. She pulled away slightly to look deeply into his eyes, their faces only inches apart. Their hearts raced as their smiles widened, neither knowing what to say or if they should say anything at all.

Deciding that this moment between them was beyond words, she let him go without saying a thing and ran inside. Arnold touched his cheek as he heard her sing out with glee. He grinned as he thought of her dancing through the store, and he backed away until he bumped into his bike right where he'd left it.

The whole ride home, Arnold felt like he was flying.

* * *

"I'm not sure about this," Vincent said in a small, quiet voice as he stared at himself in the long mirror. "I feel a little silly."

"But it's almost Halloween! You're supposed to feel silly, that's the whole point!" Phil exclaimed with his hands up for emphasis.

Vincent stared at the gorilla costume he was practically forced to try on. "Do I have to be a gorilla?"

"Dagnabbit, it's not a gorilla, it's Bigfoot you knucklehead!"

Vincent sighed and stared at the _Bigfoot_ costume he was practically forced to try on. "I think I'd rather pass on this. Nothing personal, it's just...not really my thing."

Miles laughed and shook his head. "He's right, Dad. Halloween just isn't his thing. I couldn't even get him to dress up in middle school. Maybe you can get Oskar to be the gorilla."

"Oh, yes, maybe Oskar could be a gorilla, that sounds fun... Only we don't have a _gorilla_ costume, Miles, we have a _Bigfoot_ costume!" Grandpa yelled with his arms crossed now.

"Right, right, Bigfoot." Miles watched as his father went on a long rant about how Bigfoot is definitely not a gorilla, since he's more likely an undiscovered species, or perhaps he used to be a human being who was put under a witch's curse, or he was an alien, or a ghost, or an escaped government experiment of some kind.

The old man followed these theories with a tall tale about how he and Jimmy Kafka went hiking one year and were chased through the woods by Bigfoot himself. Jumping into the river to escape the massive furry man-beast, they quickly found themselves drifting toward a giant waterfall. Just before they fell to what was surely certain death, the mighty Bigfoot leapt into the water and grabbed them under his long, muscular arms. They thought they were goners, but it turned out that Bigfoot was merely rescuing them, and the whole thing was just a great big misunderstanding. When Phil started talking about visiting the secret sasquatch tribe in their hidden city deep within the forest, Miles had to interrupt.

"Um, Dad? It really sounds like you're just describing things that happened with Stella and I, only you swapped out the Green Eyes for...Bigfoot."

Phil scoffed. "Oh, what do you know?"

"Dinner's ready!" Stella called out from the dining room. Vincent was relieved and walked up to his room to get out of that stupid costume as Phil and Miles followed the delicious smells that seemed to beckon to them. Stella and Gertie had already set the table, and of course Ernie and Mr. Hyunh had already grabbed their seats. Miles walked up behind Stella and wrapped his arms around her waist, putting his head on her shoulder.

"Ha colocado una mesa preciosa, mi bella señorita." Miles then purred seductively into her ear before pulling out her chair for her. She kissed his cheek and sat down,

"Gracias, mi amor," she replied with a smirk. "Say, where's Arnold anyw-"

"I'm here!" Arnold said loudly as he burst into the house and rushed upstairs. "Be down in a minute!" He called out. Stella and Miles shrugged.

"Never mind."

Miles takes his seat next to Stella as they wait for Arnold. Before he comes down, Vincent returns in one of his new ensembles. Black jeans, a grey sweater, and white sneakers replaced the dirty, ragged old clothes he'd been wearing so long. Without his aviator cap, his wispy, curly salt and pepper hair was finally set free, though it was much fuller around the back and sides of his head than it was on top.

He walked toward a seat next to Miles, but Oskar ran up and sat in it himself. "Sorry, mister, but this is my seat!" Vincent stood there in shock for a moment before he turned to find another seat.

"Why you little weasel!" Phil shouted.

"For cryin' out loud, Kokoshka, can't you show some manners for once? Just let the bird man sit where he wants to sit!"

"But that's no fair, I'm Miles's best friend! Aren't I, Miles?" Oskar said as he looked at Miles for support. Miles just sighed."

"Oskar..."

"Whaaat?"

"It's fine, I really don't want to bother anybody..." As everyone kept fighting with Oskar, Vincent turned to leave the dining room altogether, but they were all silenced when Arnold walked in.

"You can have my seat, Vincent."

Vincent smiled at that. "Are you sure, Arnold?"

"It's no big deal. I usually sit at the head of the table, but it's fine. I'll just sit next to you." Arnold started to lead Vincent around the table toward the back of the dining room. He bumped against Oskar's chair as they moved past him, causing him to yell out in exaggerated pain.

"Hey, watch it!" Oskar complained as he leaned forward to pull his chair in further.

"Whoops," Arnold said dryly. A little smirk formed on his face as he reached his seat next to Vincent. Was Helga rubbing off on him? He knew he couldn't be as belligerent or rude as her, but he did enjoy dishing a little karma on Oskar. However, the thought of Helga sent his mind wandering, his memory playing back the events of the day. Receiving the heartfelt gift she had given him as part of an apology. Comforting her when her walls broke and reassuring her that he would never hate her. Telling her how much he cared about her. Taking her photo, and kissing her, and riding home with her, and catching her dancing. Every single moment played back perfectly in his mind, some of them painful and some of them exciting.

The moments that were most vivid, however, were those that were affectionate and gentle, the moments that truly made his heart soar.

"Psst, Arnold! You in there somewhere, pal?"

Arnold shook his head and looked over at Ernie. "Huh? Yeah, I'm...just thinking is all." He couldn't hide his warm smile as he ate, staring down at his plate of crisped pork chops and Sriracha-dressed Brussels sprouts like he was still lost in thought.

"He make a very funny face. If he's sick, I will go back to my room!" Mr. Hyunh piped up.

"Keep it down, Hyunh, he's not sick." Ernie rolled his eyes. "He might be nuts, though."

"Hey, Arnold, if you're sent to an institute for crazy heads, can I have your room while you're gone?" Typical Oskar.

Arnold sighed. "Guys, I'm fine. I just...had a good day is all."

It was then that Arnold's perceptive grandfather smirked and scratched his chin in realization. "I think I know what that look means..." He nudged Gertie who started giggling. "Must be the boy had a fun time with Audrey."

Miles and Stella looked at each other, then at Arnold. "That sounds lovely. So, is Audrey a girl from your class?" Stella asked after a quiet gulp.

Arnold rolled his eyes. "Her name is Helga, and you guys kind of already met her. And I told you about her the other day, remember?" He gave his parents a look, and they nodded with understanding. "Ohhh, so that's who you were hanging out with."

"Yeah. So, could we maybe...talk about this later?" Arnold took a quick glance around the table, at the other boarders, before looking back to them.

"Sure thing, kid." Miles winked to let Arnold know he understood, and a relieved Arnold started talking about the costume he planned to wear at his friend Rhonda's big Halloween party, Stella simply stared at her boy and pondered the brief revelation that Arnold had just inadvertently given them: he was clearly all excited about a girl. Possibly even a girlfriend.

They were both genuinely happy for their son, but Stella was also feeling a little nervous. She knew they would have to adjust to the fact that Arnold was not only much older than the last time they saw him before San Lorenzo, but he was also wise beyond his years. In some ways, that is. In others, he was still a normal eleven-year-old boy. Would he be ready for something like this? Surely puberty was right around the corner, if it hadn't already started. As far as she knew, Miles hadn't had the talk with him yet. She took a mental note to remind him that now is probably the time.

She glanced at Miles, who seemed to have taken in this information much more easily than she did. Did it occur to him, the gravity of what would be happening? Or was he simply more emotionally prepared for this?

"What do you think, Mom?" Arnold asked, not realizing that she'd zoned out for a minute.

"Hm? Oh! Um, I...think your idea is... I'm sorry, sweetie, I got a little sidetracked for a moment."

Arnold caught her up on his plan, and then asked if he should go with something a bit more ambitious. Her smile was genuine as she listened to him ramble about it with childlike glee and enthusiasm. "I think you've got just the right idea, Arnold."

"Thanks, Mom. Grandma can teach me how to do _that_ part, I just need to put the costume together now. I think I still have the hat somewhere, but I'm not sure about the rest..."

Stella brightened up at that. "I could help you, if you want."

"Really? That'd be great!"

"Of course, Arnold. I'd be more than happy to help."

"Thanks, Mom. You're the best!"

"Yeah, I am aren't I?" She says as she leans over and lays her head on Miles's shoulder. Miles turns to leave a kiss on her head and nods.

"You sure are, honey."

Shortly after that, the boarders finished eating and retired to their rooms for the night. Vincent thanked Arnold for sticking up for him and left not to his bedroom, but to the roof. Gertie, who still couldn't get that plant to eat in front of anyone, went outside and left it in the green house for a while, grumbling her frustration the whole way. Phil ran to the nearest bathroom, regretting the raspberry tart he foolishly consumed for dessert.

"So, Arnold..." his father began, "how about you fill us in on this _friend_ of yours? Helga, right? Picks on you sometimes, helps you out other times, has a locket with your picture in it? How long have you known this girl anyway?"

Arnold took a deep breath, nodding. "Well... I actually met her on the first day of preschool..."

* * *

Helga had plenty of reason to be extremely annoyed.

Olga spent way too much time on the phone with Luke, or was it Blake, or Mark, or that really annoying British guy on TV who's always getting chased by animals? Whatever, Olga took too long to get started on dinner, so Big Baby got tired of waiting and ordered Chinese food. Which wasn't even hot by the time it got there.

Everyone gathered in the family break room at the little round table. Except Helga. She sat on a little leather couch on the other side of the room, next to the mostly empty vending machine. There was one more chair for her at the table, but it was trapped in the corner of the room and she'd have to ask someone to get up just to squeeze in. Plus, no one puts Helga in a corner.

However, as Helga sat on that old leather couch, her bandaged hand still sore, her eyes a little sore as well thanks to all the crying she'd done earlier in the day, and eating cold, cheap Chinese food while her supposed family never bothered to include her in their lousy attempt at a conversation, Helga was surprised just how content she was.

Despite all the odds, her plan worked anyway. Sure, her gift was ruined and Arnold saw the worst side of her when the whole point was to show him her best side, and she did pour her heart out and give voice to her deepest fears of rejection, and despite all that, Arnold still didn't run away. He still didn't hate her. Plus they kissed again. She stifled a giggle at the thought of it. And despite how hard she worked to give him a picture of his parents, it was a picture of _her_ that he really wanted.

Her. Helga G. Pataki. Not Ruth. Not Lila. Not Gloria, whoever that was. Arnold wanted _her_.

She set her noodles down on the couch beside her and pulled out her phone. She already had the text app open with Arnold as the selected recipient of a half-written draft. One she deleted once again to start anew, still not sure how to break the ice with him. Should she be romantic? Or funny? Should she gripe about something? That wouldn't be too hard, but was that even how she was feeling? She kept debating whether or not to be honest with him or to try and skirt around her feelings to poke and prod at him a bit, see how _he_ was feeling at that moment.

"What are you doing!?" Bob shouted across the not particularly large break room.

Helga's head shot up and she grumbled a bit before putting the phone away. "What are you talking about? I was just looking at my phone for a minute."

"Get those noodles off the couch, the heat's going to warp the leather!"

Helga stared at him as if he just admitted he was actually a toddler controlling a Big Bob robot with a remote control. "What heat, Bob? Where? These noodles aren't even lukewarm, let alone as hot as that thing floating around in your head that you call a brain."

"Watch your mouth, young lady! I don't care if they're as cold as your attitude, I want them off _my_ couch!"

"Okay. I shall remove the noodles from _your_ couch." Helga got up, grabbed her stupid box of cold noodles, and promptly dropped them in the garbage. "There. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to my room."

"Good! Maybe you can start cleaning it!" Bob yelled. Miriam rubbed her temples as Olga looked from her father to her sister, not sure who to deal with first.

"Daddy, please just leave her be for now. She probably just...wasn't very hungry tonight, that's all." Olga knew it was a stretch. She'd seen the way Helga could clear even a generous plate, let alone finish off a small box of cold noodles.

Bob grumbled, not necessarily buying the excuse but not caring to keep up the fight once Helga was out of the room. "Sometimes I swear we should have just..." He sighed and started filling his face again. "Never mind." Though the look on his face was still bitter and angry, his head hung low and his shoulders slumped a bit as he continued eating.

Olga gasped. "Daddy, that's so very cruel! I thought we weren't supposed to talk about that ever again." Olga shivered at the thought, having hoped for a long time that she could forget all about those painful times. About the worst pain she'd ever felt, an emotional wound she had tried to bury a long time ago and only recently truly begun to heal.

"I know, I know." He started to swirl his noodles around in their box, staring into it almost like he's searching for something. "You know, I found the...the paper where we were negotiating-"

"ENOUGH!"

Bob and Olga jumped, hushed into silence by the loud yell and the accompanying slam on the table, but most of all they were surprised by the source.

"...Mom?" Olga reached toward her, but Miriam held up her hand and took a deep breath, as if to say she'd be fine in just a moment. But she wasn't fine. Her face contorted with sorrow as she failed to keep herself from crying. She held her face in her hands and shook her head. Olga and Bob just looked at each other in shock before looking back at her.

"We...are not...going to talk...about that... _ever_... _again_. Especially when she is _home_. When she... When she could still... _hear us_...got it!?" Miriam seethed as she pulled her hands away, her face now streaked with tears.

Bob swallowed hard and nodded. "Fine."

As Bob and Olga went back to eating, this time sitting in total silence, Miriam sat perfectly still with her food untouched. Only once did she turn her attention away from the empty chair in the corner. She looked outside the break room, listening carefully to make sure that Helga wasn't still lurking about nearby.

She didn't know what she would do if Helga ever found out.

* * *

Helga sat on her bed in her nightgown, her legs curled up beneath her, as she waited with baited breath for her beloved to text her back. Finally her phone lit up, and she quickly went to her messages.

 _Helga:_ hey so this is Helga please text me when you get this ok?

 _Arnold:_ Hi! I was wondering when you would text me lol

 _Helga:_ took u long enough. I was starting to think grandma fed u to her plant monster

 _Arnold:_ Sorry I was still talking to my parents

 _Helga:_ so we on for dinner or what

 _Helga:_ better not be chinese food tho

 _Arnold:_ Nah my mom will probably make something

 _Arnold:_ Are you feeling better?

 _Arnold:_ Hello?

 _Helga:_ all things considered Im feeling kinda amazing tbh

 _Arnold:_ Me too

 _Helga:_ seriously thank you for everything Arnold. I hope I didnt bug you too much lololol

 _Arnold:_ You're welcome, and you didn't bug me

 _Arnold:_ You sure you're okay?

 _Helga:_ I'd be so lost without yo

 _Helga:_ crap that wasnt supposed to send

 _Helga:_ also that should say you not yo

 _Helga:_ hellooooo

 _Arnold:_ Something tells me I would too

 _Helga:_ sheesh dont scare me like that

 _Arnold:_ So listen. Theres one thing my parents mentioned that you might not like

 _Helga:_ oh brother what nowww

 _Arnold:_ They'd be happy to have you over and throw a big dinner and everything but well...

 _Helga:_ just spit it out hair boy

 _Arnold:_ They want to meet your parents.


	7. Under the Surface

**Hearts of Gold**

7\. Under the Surface

"There is no way I am bringing my parents to dinner at your house," Helga said harshly into the phone, pacing around her bedroom. What on Earth was he thinking!? Whose idea was this? Was it his idea, she wondered? Probably not, after that worried look he gave her earlier. Still, the thought of her crappy parents meeting his was terrifying. There was no way she could just text him back after that, so she had to call him.

"I understand why you don't want to bring them, Helga, but-"

"No! No buts this time, Arnold! This isn't one of those situations where I say 'there is no way blah blah blah' and then I wind up doing it anyway! It's just...not...going...to... _happen!"_

Arnold sighed. It wasn't that he really wanted Helga's mom and dad to come, necessarily. As much as he tried to see the best in everyone, he knew how difficult they could be, and he wasn't even sure yet if he'd be able to exclude the boarders. More importantly, he knew that Helga would be extremely uncomfortable with them there, and he didn't want that for her.

However, he understood why his parents would want to meet them. Helga was his first real girlfriend, and getting each other's parents together was some kind of rite of passage. And beyond all that, deep down, as frustrating and obnoxious as her parents could be, he still wanted to believe they were good people underneath. He didn't give up on Helga, after all, and his patience finally paid off. "I know it's hard, but I can't just say no, they won't come, or we can't invite them. I need to give them a little more than that."

"Well, why didn't you tell them that Bob and Miriam are nightmare people sent from the underworld to ruin my pathetic life? That might have given them the right idea!"

"I didn't feel comfortable telling them all that, Helga. It's just...not my place. Either way, they do want to meet your family, and...if we, you know... The longer we..."

"Should I be worried about you, Arnoldo? Criminy, you're way too young to be having a freaking stroke right now. Just cut to the chase already!"

"Okay, if we're...boyfriend and girlfriend...and we stay that way long enough, then eventually they're going to meet each other someday."

Helga stopped pacing and slowly sat down on her bed. Her voice went small and quiet. "Did you just say what I think you just said...?"

"Yeah, I guess I did."

Boyfriend and girlfriend. Arnold was her boyfriend. She was his girlfriend. Was this all a dream? Did she fall asleep already, and this whole conversation has really been in her head all this time? She shook her head and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "Okay. First of all, remind me to mention that in my diary. Second of all, I... I'm sorry, Arnold, I can't do it if they have to be part of it."

She couldn't see him lower his head at that, but somehow she knew. "I know. It's just, it would be nice for our families to get along."

Families. The word gave Helga an idea. "So, I know this will sound crazy at first, and we can talk more about it tomorrow if you _insist_ , but... I might have an alternative to my parents."

"Who...?"

"Olga."

"Really? You'd actually bring Olga? I thought you hated her."

Helga laughed sarcastically. "Don't get me wrong, she can be extremely annoying, same as always. But... I don't know, I guess I'm coming around a little. Maybe some of your goody two-shoes shtick is rubbing off on me. Point is, we're actually...kind of getting along better, and... Honestly, out of everyone in my family, she's probably the only one that wouldn't ruin everything. As long as she doesn't embarrass the crap out of me, anyway."

"I'll talk to my parents about it, but I think that could work for now. Besides, we probably won't be able to do it right away anyway. We got, um...a new tenant, and he's still settling in. Plus with Halloween and everything..."

"Works for me. Speaking of which, you got your costume ready for Rhonda's party?"

"Not yet. My mom's helping with that tomorrow after school."

"Oh..." Helga fell back onto her bed and swallowed hard as she stared up at the ceiling. She had been hoping they could spend the day together, however there was a much more pressing matter: she forgot all about school. Would Harold be there, or would he be stuck at home? Sid and Stinky would be there for sure. They skipped too many times already. Plus, she was certain they'd tell everyone what happened. They'd tell everyone in the whole school what a monster she really was.

"Something wrong, Helga?"

"I just know tomorrow is going to be the absolute worst." Helga turned to her side and buried her face in one of her pillows.

"No it won't. I'll be there with you."

"We'll see, Football Head."

There was a long pause after that. Arnold knew as much as Helga that she would likely wind up the center of a ton of gossip tomorrow. Maybe even worse. She was usually able to deflect most negative attention, aside from nearly getting beat up by Big Patty and some hurt feelings over her impressions, but this felt different and they both knew it. With her heart opened up to him, he worried that she would feel particularly vulnerable and insecure. He wondered just how often she was hurting and never told anyone.

"Whatever happens tomorrow, you can always come to me. Okay?"

"Fine... Thank you..."

"You're welcome. Anyway, as much as I wish I could stay on all night, I should probably get going. I have to do some training with Grandma, plus she's going to teach me some cool stuff I can do at the party."

"Training? You mean... Honestly, I forgot all about that." Was he going to the party as a ninja or something, she wondered? Helga remembered the sight of him in his karate uniform, roaming the halls like he was some kind of action hero, out looking for vengeance. At that moment she was struck with the fantasy of him breaking into the enemy stronghold and unleashing a storm of violence upon the minions of a corrupt warlord, swords clashing like lightning as the blood of his enemies rained down upon him in a storm of righteous fury. She squirmed with delight at the thought of it.

"Yeah. Well, see you tomorrow, Helga."

Helga snapped back to reality at the sound of his voice again. "Okay. Yeah, I guess I'll um... Yeah... Goodnight, Arnold."

"Goodnight, Helga."

Helga hung up the call and stared at the phone. She was dying to tell Phoebe everything that happened, but it was surely too late to call her on a school night. Luckily tomorrow was Friday, and after that was Halloween. And Rhonda's costume party. Since Arnold was apparently going out with his mom after school, she figured she could prepare for her own costume since he'd be busy with his... What was he going to be, anyway? She realized he never told her.

She knew he had martial arts training, but did that mean he was going to be a mighty sword-slashing ninja warrior of some kind? No, he mentioned something else too that his grandma would be helping him with, so that couldn't be it. She grimaced at the thought that he was probably training like that just to achieve inner peace and harmony and garbage like that.

She started to wonder what he could possibly be doing, and the thought crossed her mind that he was going to surprise her. She pulled up her text app and stared at her conversation with Arnold, tapping the text box to send another message. She typed and deleted a lot of different things. At first she thought of asking him directly what his plans were, but she decided not to. Instead she wound up thanking him, or saying goodnight again, or even telling him she loved him, but every time she deleted it and started from scratch. Finally, she settled on something simple: a heart emoji. Straight to the point. Eager to send something before she changed her mind again, she pressed send and turned her phone off. After setting it on the little tray next to her bed, she pulled the blankets over her and turned to her other side.

When her phone went off only a moment later, she scrambled quickly to turn back around and see his reply. She practically swooned at the sight of it: another heart emoji.

* * *

"How's he doing?" Stinky whispered.

Sid sighed and shrugged. He kept his eyes on the door instead of looking at Stinky. For now it was still mostly just other kids arriving for class, but he knew that at any moment Mr. Frank would walk in too. He was just thankful that everyone else was chatting away as well, passing around a "get well soon" card for Harold that everyone was busy signing. He leaned over and whispered back, "Pretty much how you would expect. Sore all over. Stuffing his face with junk food. He's also really mad at Helga, I think."

"What's that mean? You just _think_ he's mad at Helga?"

"I mean he's definitely mad at her, but he's putting on a front too. Something tells me he's mostly just scared of her, but you know how he is."

Stinky understood immediately. When they brought Harold home, he made them swear not to tell his parents that their classmate Helga was responsible for the beating he took, and when asked what _did_ happen, Harold blurted out that he was mugged. By a guy with one leg. And an eye patch. Somehow his parents actually bought his bizarre pirate mugger story and that was that.

"Anyway, he told me that we cannot say a word of this to anyone," Sid warned Stinky.

"What are you guys talking about?" Rhonda hadn't been paying attention before, but she couldn't help overhearing that last part. If there was a secret, she wanted to know it.

"We ain't supposed to tell nobody that Helga beat the crap out of Harold," Stinky casually let out. Rhonda gasped.

"Stinky! I literally just said _not to do_ what you literally just did! Oh man, oh man, if Helga doesn't kill us today, Helga's going to kill us when he gets back!" Sid almost yelled as he frantically waved his arms around, much more nervous than he was before.

"Gosh darn it... Sorry..." Once again, Stinky was reminded that he was nothing special, let alone bright enough to keep Harold's secret for him.

"That's why Harold isn't here today!? How bad was it!? I mean, it's not like Helga's never been violent before, but...still!"

"It was bad. I ain't ever seen nothing like it," Stinky said in his trademark monotone. "It weren't even funny enough to laugh at."

She shook her head as she looked over at his empty desk. Sure, he was loud and obnoxious and absolutely _revolting_ when he inhaled his lunch, or any food at all really, but part of her still felt bad for him. In the back of her mind, memories swirled of a particularly interesting day at the Cheese Festival a year or two ago, but she shoved them away and tried to force herself to forget about that.

Rhonda looked back at Sid. "She thinks she's the boss of everyone, doesn't she? Always pushing us around."

"And now she's beating us up! It's like the older she gets, the worse she bullies us! One day she might even be worse than Wolfgang..." Sid trembled at the thought of that.

Rhonda shook her head. "That girl has got to be taught a lesson."

Sid nodded in agreement. "I'll say. She's a real monster, alright. Clobbering him like that for no reason. Who does she think she is?" Sid seethed as he spoke, gripping his pencil tight in his fist.

Stinky sat quietly, pondering the situation. After all, it wasn't really for _no reason_ was it? He saw the crushed box on the bench when they ran over. He reckoned that Harold must have fell on it on account of he was too busy watching the ball. The ball that _he_ threw. It dawned on him suddenly that Harold wasn't the one to blame for any of it.

As Rhonda quickly wrote out a note to pass around the room, Stinky propped his head up on one elbow and sighed, staring down at his desk even as the door opened and the rest of the classroom suddenly fell quiet. And it wasn't because Mr. Frank had just walked in.

* * *

"I'm not sure about this." Helga stood outside the classroom, her back to the wall. "It's not too late. I can still make it home. Or I'll just go to the mall. That's it, I'll go to the mall, and I'll just roam around where no one's going to ask questions, no one's going to bug me, and I'll get to skip this whole stupid day."

Arnold rolled his eyes. "Helga."

"Don't you 'Helga' me, Bucko."

"Helga, if you run away now, you'll just have to do it on Monday anyway. Plus everyone's going to wonder why _you_ weren't here. Then they'll really be suspicious."

"Oh, stop making sense, Arnoldo. Just this once, let me be irrational and paranoid so I can-"

"Miss out on the party tomorrow?"

Helga blinked. All this time between talking about how much she dreaded facing her peers and about Rhonda's stupid party, the thought never occurred to her that the former might have an impact on the latter. She'd been thinking of them as two separate, smaller problems when in fact they were both one bigger problem. "You know what? Maybe I should, Arnold."

As they locked eyes for a moment, Gerald cleared his throat, having just walked up with Phoebe. "Everything okay here...?" He glanced at Helga, who was clearly _not_ in the mood for any small talk. And having heard by then what went down, he understood why.

Arnold nodded. "We're just talking a minute before _we_ go in."

Helga grumbled at that purposeful "we" he put in there, and Gerald shrugged. "Alright, then." He glanced at Phoebe, who gave him a knowing look before turning to Helga.

Phoebe was quickly able to infer exactly what this conversation consisted of, and why they hadn't simply walked into class like everyone else had done already. She reached over and touched Helga's arm, leaning over to whisper to her, "You can do it, Helga. Just be strong, and don't worry about what anyone else says. You're too tough for that stuff."

Helga softened at her words and touched her hand. "Thanks, Pheebs..." With that, Gerald and Phoebe went into the classroom and took their seats.

"She's right, you know."

Helga rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"So you're just going to skip today, and the party too?" Arnold crossed his arms then.

"What else can I do? You never screwed up this bad before. Heck, I honestly don't think I have either! Don't forget, I was once the class pariah because of a few dumb impressions I did. Dealing with this is going to be torture for me, Arnold."

It was true that Arnold didn't really know exactly how she was feeling. He'd been picked on and laughed at a few times, sure. A lot of times it was because of a prank Helga had pulled on him, ironically. Nonetheless it pained him to know that she did feel so scared and so vulnerable. He wished he could just take all her fears away for her, all her sadness and frustration. All he knew was that he simply could not leave her alone.

"Fine. Let's go to the mall."

Helga tilted her head. "Uh, newsflash pal, no one in there would want to give a goody-two-shoes like you the ol' stink eye. Just go to class already, I'll be fine by myself." They both knew it wasn't true, of course.

"I don't care. I told you I'd be by your side, so if you're not going in there, I'm not either. We can go to the mall together, and we can find something else to do tomorrow."

Helga's heart began to race as the familiar footsteps of a very boring sixth grade teacher echoing through the mostly empty hallways. "Arnold, you can't skip the party, everyone is-"

"I'm not going if you're not there, Helga. You are the reason I wanted to go in the first place. So if you don't go, I don't go." Arnold stood perfectly still, calm as could be as Mr. Frank's footsteps came closer and closer.

Helga stared into his eyes and knew he was dead serious. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized that he would put her needs first even if it meant missing out on a fun time with all his friends, or missing a day of school. Both of which were important for different reasons.

"Oh, for crying out loud..." Helga sighed with defeat, but it was a defeat she strangely enjoyed. "I don't know if I should kiss you later or punch you."

Arnold smirked, opening the classroom door and stepping aside for her to enter. As she stepped in, a hush fell over the room. She quickly put on her typical scowl and stormed over to her desk, hoping no one noticed how nervous she really was. Arnold took his seat beside her and leaned over to whisper, "See? Everything's fine."

She shrugged. "For now."

They didn't have much time to chat, however, as Mr. Frank walked in only a moment later. As he began the day's lessons, Helga found it difficult to pay attention. Every couple minutes or so, she kept stealing quick glances around the room. She expected to see everyone glaring at her, but it was surprisingly...well, boring actually. Only a couple of them seemed off. Sid was unusually stiff today, and didn't seem to be doodling in his notebook like he usually did. Stinky, on the other hand, just looked kind of miserable.

Did seeing Harold in that state really affect them that badly? If they were the same Sid and Stinky she knew, they'd be laughing about the whole thing, mocking Harold for getting beat up by a girl. So why weren't they amused this time?

At the very least, no one else seemed to be bothered. A sense of relief started to wash over her as she realized that the only people she _might_ have to deal with were those two morons. As Mr. Frank turned his back to the class to write on the board, she leaned over to Arnold.

"I think I might actually be in the clear..." she whispered in as low a voice as she could. Arnold thankfully heard enough of it to understand and smiled, both of them unaware that they were, in fact, being watched, or that a note had been slowly making its way around the classroom.

When they weren't looking, Rhonda glared at them. First Gerald and Phoebe, then Stinky can't stop making those disgusting lovesick eyes at Lila, and now that savage animal Helga was with Arnold? Of all people? Surely it couldn't be true. If it was, she couldn't let it stand.

She would have to do something about that.

* * *

Gerald wasn't sure why Iggy nudged him at first. He turned to give the supposed "cool kid" a glare, but on seeing that Iggy was trying to pass a note, he quickly snatched it from his fingers. As bunny boy tapped said fingers on his desk in an obvious attempt to appear innocent, Gerald carefully unfolded the small piece of paper.

 _Helga almost killed Harold!  
SHE MUST PAY_

Gerald wasn't sure who started the note at first. The purple ink suggested it was one of the girls, or maybe Curly, but more likely it was Rhonda, the gossip queen of 118. However, he immediately recognized the second line as Sid's handwriting. The crude drawing of a bandaged hand next to it was also a dead giveaway. The bloody claws were a bit much, he thought.

He took a quick look around at his other classmates. It was hard to tell who else had already seen the note, but with Rhonda and Sid at the other side of the room, it was safe to assume almost everyone saw it. He looked ahead to Arnold and Helga, sitting side by side, and caught her leaning over to whisper something to him. Were they really getting closer now? And why? After yesterday, wouldn't she want to be even further away from him? He knew what Arnold told him on the bus, that they really bonded, but seeing actual evidence of it confused him and, even more, worried him.

Still, Arnold seemed happy right now, and if someone was planning on getting revenge, he couldn't stand by and let his best friend get hurt too. He crumbled the note up and shoved it in his pocket, not wanting it to be passed around any further.

* * *

Helga stood by the front doors waiting for Arnold, tapping her foot impatiently as kids all shapes and sizes and ages rushed past her, eager to start their weekend and prepare for the following day. Of course she didn't care about that, she was just keeping her eye out for anyone who might want a word or two with her. Or worse.

"Come on Football Head, where the heck are you...!?" She whispered harshly as she quickly pulled out her phone and started to type a text message.

"Hey, Helga."

Helga jumped and took a deep breath, preparing for what was surely coming. "Hello, Stinky. Real quick, just a suggestion... Maybe don't sneak up on me like that, 'kay? I am really, _really_ not in the mood today."

Stinky gulped and held his hands up. "I reckon you got every right to be all jumpy and whatnot. I just thought, um... I thought I'd..."

"Pick up the pace, Stinko, I haven't got all day!" Helga snarled, though her voice shook slightly. What was he trying to say? Was he about to yell at her? Even if he didn't, would someone else spot them and feel confident enough to confront her themselves? That's how it was going to go down, wasn't it? They all waited until after school was officially out, and now they were going to gang up on her. She looked back at the doors to see if anyone might be blocking her exit from the other side, but so far there was no one else there. What was going on, she wondered? Why was Stinky talking to her? Why here? Why now?

"Hurry up!" She almost yelled, causing the southern boy to wince.

"I just wanted to, um... I want to apologi-"

"Hey, Stinky. What are you up to?" asked a familiar friendly voice, though he sounded a little more tense than he usually did.

Stinky jerked his head around, seeing Arnold standing behind him. "Willikers, Arnold, I didn't even hear you walk up. You sure gave me an awful fright, heheh..." Stinky put his hands behind his back as Arnold walked around him and over to Helga. Stinky was surprised to see him touch her shoulder, and even more surprised that she didn't immediately sock him in the jaw.

Arnold softly whispered, "Everything okay?"

Helga nodded quickly. "Yeah. Let's just get out of here." The two of them stepped outside, and at the top of the steps, Helga stopped and held her hand out toward Arnold.

Arnold's eyes went wide. He looked down at her hand, then up into her eyes. It took Helga moment to realize why he was so stunned, giving her that goofy look like that.

"Better hurry before I change my mind, Bucko." She smirked and started to slowly retract her hand, as if to tease him. Not wanting to waste another second in case she was serious, Arnold very gently took her hand, and when she stopped pulling away his stunned expression gave way to that big excited grin he made when he was really happy.

The two of them walked down the steps and toward the bus, all the while they were still being watched by a rather dumbstruck Stinky. Arnold and Helga? Why, that didn't make a lick of sense. Sure, he got to see a bit more of Helga's sensitive side than others did. Even if it was just a big old sham.

"Um, excuse me Stinky," said a very soft, sweet voice. Lila walked around him and gave him a smile that made his face turn redder than the cherry on an ice cream sundae. "Oh dear, are you alright?"

Stinky shook his head, trying to get the butterflies out of his system. "Why thank you, Miss Lila. I'm...well, I reckon I'm just feeling a little spooked is all, on account of it is Halloween and such." It was a lie, but he couldn't tell her the real reason he was standing there like a dang fool with his face all blushed.

"Oh, I understand. Sometimes it just feels ever so creepy, with all the ghosts and skeletons everywhere. But I assure you, there's nothing to be scared of." There she was, being as kind as kind could be, trying to calm down a boring nobody like him. She really was quite the special lady.

"I suppose you're right. Thanks for...cheering me up, I suppose. You take care now, Miss Lila."

Lila walked off ahead of him. "You're oh so welcome, Stinky! Have a wonderful weekend!" Stinky watched as she walked away, slowly shambling down the steps after her. He took a seat right there, planted his elbows on his knees, and propped his head up. The loneliness he felt before now had a big hunk of confusion mixed in.

On one hand, things seemed to make sense and fall into place naturally. Lila was special, and he was a nobody. He'd be lucky if he ever found a lady friend who'd give him the time of day, and Lila? Well, Lila could go out with anybody she wanted. Only she'd never go out with him. Especially the way she kept turning down Arnold, and Arnold was way more special than he'd ever be.

On the other hand, Stinky had no idea how to explain what he saw with Arnold and Helga. Why, it was just yesterday they got to fighting over lunch or something. Today, meanwhile, there wasn't any fighting at all. Arnold and Helga were getting along like two peas in a pod.

It made him think about how he and Helga were kind of together at one point. He knew it was just a big old ruse just to make Arnold jealous, but he wasn't sure why. If Helga wanted Arnold for herself, then just how did she manage to win him over like this? Especially after she knocked the crap out of Harold.

"Hey, Stinky!" Sid jumped down in front of Stinky with excitement. "Come on, I got an idea for the party tomorrow!"

"Party...? Wait... Oh, you mean Rhonda's party?" Stinky asked as reality came back to him and his thoughts were put away for the time being.

"Duh! It'll be perfect, you'll see. If we hurry we can still get all the ingredients we need! We just have to make sure we've got enough for _a lot_ of it."

Stinky had no idea what Sid was rambling on about, but he appreciated the distraction. Maybe this dang party was just what he needed to get his mind off all that misery. "Well, Sid, I ain't got the slightest clue what you're talking about, but it sure does sound like fun, whatever it is. I reckon we'd better get started."

Sid cackled with glee as the boys left the school grounds and began their trek downtown. As Stinky tried his best to look on the bright side and focus on the task at hand, Sid could only think one thing: _Tomorrow, that Helga Pataki will finally get what she deserves!_


	8. Crazy

**Hearts of Gold**

8\. Crazy

Gerald sat outside on the stoop of the Sunset Arms, checking his Wacko watch. They'd still make it in time if Arnold came out soon, but he was cutting it a little close. He got up to knock again but upon hearing activity behind the door, he stepped down to the sidewalk instead and waited, bracing for the flood of animals that would surely be running out when the door opened. He was mostly right. This time the unruly mob that ran out was mostly black cats. Although Abner, who had a pair of fake ears and a fake tail, was not a very convincing member of their gang.

"Bye everyone!" Arnold called back inside as he stepped out. Gerald scratched his head as he looked his pal over.

"A magician? You're going to Rhonda's costume party...as a magician?"

Arnold shrugged innocently. "Yeah. I learned some cool magic tricks and everything." It was definitely an improvement on the last time he tried the old magician routine. This time he wore an actual tuxedo, or just a really good costume of one, and a big black cape lined in red on the inside. If he ditched the wand and the top hat and put in a set of fangs, he might have been an okay Dracula. But this was Arnold, of course, and he decided to be a magician.

"What were the other choices? Santa Claus? Maybe even a clown?" Gerald couldn't help but tease him as they started walking down the street.

"Very funny, Gerald."

"I'm just saying, if you wanted to paint my face, you could have come over before I got ready."

"At least I could decide on one costume. A jock who turns into a werewolf?"

Gerald crossed his arms at that. "First of all, I'm supposed to be a _werecat_ , but my mom wouldn't let me put the contacts in. Second of all, I'm not a jock. Did you even watch that video I told you about?" he said while wearing a red and yellow varsity jacket with a big "M" on the front in addition to all the fur and the claws.

"Uhhh... Sort of. I know there's zombies in it. And...they dance a lot...?"

Gerald rolled his eyes. "Forget it. Let's just keep our eyes peeled in case Wolfgang's out here to make some trouble."

Arnold smirked. "Don't be such a _scaredy-cat_."

"Keep it up, _mind freak_."

The two of them laughed as they kept making their way to Rhonda's party. So far there was no sign of Wolfgang, but they passed plenty of kids running around in all kinds of costumes. Mummies, zombies, vampires, ghosts, robots, and of course the occasional space alien all passed them by. Reminded of one particularly disastrous Halloween prank, Arnold was glad that he and Gerald decided not to get involved in anything like that this year. Usually their crazy Halloween pranks went a little _too_ well and made a huge mess of things, and the alien prank was by far the worst one.

As they talked about old pranks and Rhonda's party and teased each other back and forth, they were both confused when they took opposite turns at an intersection.

"Um, Arnold...where you going?" Gerald tilted his head, looking down the road behind Arnold and then back at him.

"I have to pick up Helga. She lives down this way."

"She knows where Rhonda lives, just call her and tell her you'll meet her at the party."

"I can't do that, Gerald. She needs me right now, and-"

"She _needs_ you? Arnold, man... Don't you think you're taking things a little fast? We are still kids, you know."

Arnold sighed. "I know, Gerald, but the last year or so has been pretty crazy. Ever since FTI, everything went haywire with us, and then the whole San Lorenzo thing happened. Even the last few days have been insane."

"Exactly, Arnold. The last _few days_. In less than a week you two went from staying as far apart as possible to getting all close and friendly and, well...maybe it's not the last few days that have been crazy. Maybe it's something else...or _someone_..."

Arnold's expression soured from the implication. "What are you saying...?"

"I'm just saying, maybe _Helga_ is crazy. And maybe she's taking you to crazy town with her."

Arnold shook his head with disappointment. "Maybe everyone else has been crazy, Gerald. Maybe we were all crazy for a long time and we just got used to it."

"What _the heck_ are you talking about!? I just don't want you to get hurt! She's not stable, man! Do you even remember the things she used to do to you? I do, and whether she hurts you herself or you get hurt because of her, I just don't want you to go through that again! Is that really crazy to you? Am I crazy for thinking you should stay away from someone like her?"

Arnold's hands balled up into fists. "Go ask _your_ girlfriend what _she_ thinks. Or is _she_ crazy too?" Arnold seethed in an icy tone that left Gerald speechless. "I'll see you later." Arnold started to turn his back, but Gerald walked up next to him.

"Hey."

Arnold didn't turn, but he saw Gerald reach out in front of him, holding a small crumpled-up piece of paper. As soon as he took it, Gerald turned and walked away.

As he walked to the party, alone, Arnold's words kept ringing in his head. It was true, his girlfriend was indeed Helga's best friend for years. Still, he never had a conversation like this with her. Phoebe always saw something in her that always confused him, but he just accepted it and moved on with their own budding relationship. So why was it so hard to accept this, he wondered? Was he even being a good friend right now? He knew he was just looking out for Arnold's best interests, but... Was he really? Or was that something he told himself?

When he finally reached Rhonda's house, he arrived just in time to see Sid and Stinky carry a huge bucket inside.

* * *

Arnold stared at the note in his hands and shook his head. He should have known that word got out after all, and the peace they enjoyed the day before was the result of fear and anger, not indifference. Thoughts rolled through his head about this party. Would Helga even be tolerated there? He wondered if he should even bring her after all. It was at that moment that he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw a few texts from Helga.

 _Helga:_ just doing something with my pain in the butt sister and i'll be ready

 _Helga:_ cant wait to see u tonight. this party might actually be kinda fun lol

 _Helga:_ ugh cant text anymore. have to get this over with gaaaaah

Arnold's heart sank. While it may have been unusual for Helga to actually look forward to a big party like this with all the kids they knew, he realized the real reason she must have hated those parties was that she had no one to go with her.

Arnold decided then and there that things were going to change. He ripped up the note and tossed the pieces into a nearby trash can. It no longer mattered to him what Rhonda or Sid or even Gerald thought of her. As he started down the street toward the Beeper Emporium, he was determined now more than ever to prove just how wrong they were, and more importantly, to give Helga the kind of night full of fun and excitement she always wanted.

He'd just have to work a little magic.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm a ballerina for Halloween this year." Helga scowled as she looked into the camera with her arms crossed, furious to be standing there in that makeshift living room area full of boxes. Standing there wearing those humiliating pink tights and that ridiculous tutu skirt thing, with her hair done up in a bun that was just a bit too tight. Between the tight bun and her own frustration she was getting a headache, and reached up to massage the bridge of her nose.

"Don't forget to smile, Baby Sister!" Olga giggled as she stood beside her, putting her arm around Helga's shoulders and leaning in for an "adorable" pose. "Do you need any help, Mummy?"

"Just take the stupid picture, Miriam!" Helga snarled with a furious scowl.

Miriam stuck her tongue out as she fiddled with the camera on Olga's phone. "There, I got it! Say cheese, dear!"

Helga just kept on scowling. "Cheese deer."

"Come ooon, where's that smile?" Miriam said in a really dumb condescending tone. Helga just glared at the camera and slowly formed a grin. Sort of. It was a grin, technically. It just happened to be the grin of a bloodthirsty killer lurking in the bushes who was about to strike at their latest victim.

Olga pranced over to her dear mother and checked the photo. Helga was very clearly mortified by the situation, judging by the psychotic expression she passed off as a genuine smile, but Olga smiled and even giggled. She knew that as much as Helga hated every bit of this, at least she was willing to do it anyway, and that was all Olga needed.

"Oh, Helga, we are so cute together!" Olga practically squealed, purposely laying on the cheery attitude a little thicker than normal. Miriam just looked kind of puzzled by it.

"Are you sure, dear? I could take another one..." Miriam mumbled with a confused half smile.

"I'm sure! I'll just take a couple selfies and that'll do it!" Olga kissed Miriam on the cheek and took her phone back. Miriam's smile grew as Olga walk back over to her sister and join her for some selfie-style photos. At first Helga was still quite irritated, but with Olga not taking this set so seriously, Helga started to relax. As she scowled at the camera, Olga scowled with her, and Helga found herself trying not to chuckle.

Miriam held her hand over her heart as she watched them, lingering at a distance. To think, if she and Bob had gone through with that difficult decision all those years ago, she would have missed out on this moment entirely. Of course, she could have missed out anyway. All she would have had to do was indulge in her special smoothies again. Thankfully, however, she was too caught up in last minute decorations to have time for them, and she even prepped a bowl of candy just in case they wound up getting trick-or-treaters at their door. Of course Bob insisted on putting a beeper display out there too, but she didn't care. She had a task and she succeeded, and her mind was clear enough for her to enjoy _both_ her daughters finally bonding before her eyes. She shoved away the darker memories and smiled, happy to make good memories like this one.

Just then another memory burst into her brain and she gasped with the sudden realization that the day's mission was not yet fully accomplished. "Oh dear, I forgot to make punch!" She ran off toward the break room. Olga and Helga gave each other knowing looks, and they understood what needed to be done. Olga gave her a quick, gentle hug and followed their mother.

"Coming, Mommy!" Olga called out.

Helga rolled her eyes and went quickly to her room. Pulling up YouTube on her phone, she played a spooky old song to get her in the spirit of the evening and started to gather all the pieces to her costume. She couldn't help but sing along as she made the finishing touches to a couple important pieces.

"I can't stand it...always running around..."

She heard knocking in the distance but didn't quite put two and two together, assuming someone else would answer it.

"I can't stand it, you putting me down...oh I put a spell on you, because you're mine..."

The sound of Miriam's voice cut through the music. "Helga, dear!? Could you please answer the door!?"

Helga sighed and turned off the music. "What!?"

"Please answer the door, sweetie!"

"Criminy... Fine, I am answering the door now!" She stomped out of her room, grumbling about stupid knocking and doors and she had a party to get ready for dang it and why couldn't anyone else answer and didn't they know she was too freaking busy right now and she opened the door and oh crap it was Arnold.

* * *

Arnold just stared. His mind, once filled with thoughts of protecting Helga at the party and making sure she had a good time, was suddenly blank. Helga was standing before him in pink tights and a tutu, and both their faces were crimson. When she slammed the door and ran off, he wasn't sure he actually heard it bang shut. His heart was beating so fast and so loud, he didn't even flinch. He just stood perfectly still, staring at the door, not understanding the feelings that were emerging.

Meanwhile Helga ran frantically to her room, gathered her blankets and pillows to her face, and screamed into them as loud as she could. What was she thinking? She should have known better than to answer the door without changing first, and of all the people to show up, it had to be that stupid Football Head. For a moment she hoped that maybe the little dunce was so naive that he wouldn't understand why she was so embarrassed, but then she recalled the way he looked at her and stood there totally speechless. She shivered at the thought of it. He made her feel funny inside before, but not like this.

"Helga! Did you answer the door, honey!?" Miriam called out to her. Helga quickly jumped up from her bed and poked her head out.

"IT'S ARNOLD!" she shouted out loudly.

"Ohhh, well let the boy in won't you!? What if he leaves!?" She called back out to her.

Miriam had a point. What if he _did_ leave? She slammed the door in his face, for crying out loud. Did she just mess up again? She scrambled for her phone and texted him just two words in all caps: "HOLD ON."

She started racing to get out of those stupid tights and put on her _real_ costume. First she put on the simple black witch's dress with tattered edges, a ragged black shawl, and a dark brown rope belt around her waist. Next came the long black socks and shoes, since the dress didn't quite reach the floor. She wrapped some black bandages around both hands, mostly to cover the real bandages on her injured hand and to make it look like part of the overall costume. With the wardrobe settled, she got to work on her makeup. She slathered on a pale, slightly greenish grey tone to her hands, face, and neck, and hastily drew old age lines with a darker shade. Lastly she made dark circles around her eyes just to give her a bit of that living dead girl look. She took one last look at her makeup job and though it wasn't quite as perfect as she wanted, it was good enough for her.

She couldn't help but grin as she began to apply the most important element of her costume: a needle resembling a peacock feather that, when applied correctly, would look like it was stabbed through her neck. Of course it wasn't a real needle, as she had made it by hand out of one of those jokey "arrow through the head" gags. The hard part was modifying the curved wire that connected the two halves so it would fit around her neck instead of her head. She carefully hid the wire with some more makeup, and added some fake blood at the exit and entry wounds so it would really look like her neck was impaled with it.

Nearly done, she took her hair out of that stupid bun so she could tuck it more comfortably under a wild, ashy grey wig. All she had left to do was apply the pointy black nails she made. She grumbled as she looked on her bed where she left them, but they were nowhere to be seen. It was then she remembered that she tossed her blankets and pillows around to scream into, and growled as she checked the time.

"Criminy! I have no time for this!" With no time to keep looking, she settled for some black nail polish and walked back out.

Arnold was still standing there outside the front door, his head hanging low as he stared wide-eyed at the ground. His whole body was stiff as a board as he fidgeted with his magic wand. When he heard the door swing open, he kept his eyes low.

"Hiiiii..."

Helga crossed her arms. "Hello, _Arnold_. You came _early_. Why...didn't you... _text me!?"_

Arnold gulped and tried to find the words somewhere between his feet. "I um...I just thought-"

"Up here, Paste-for-brains! I'm in my _real_ costume now. It's awkward enough as it is, so just _drop it_ and look at me."

Arnold did exactly as she said, looking up and dropping his magic wand to the ground. He jumped a little at the sight of her in this more gruesome costume. Why was a bloody needle shoved through her neck? And why did it look like a peacock feather?

"Um... What are... Your costume, it's...who...?"

"Helena Markos," she said with a casual shrug, as if Arnold would know who or what she was. Except Arnold clearly had no idea who or what she was. "She's a witch...? Weird old Italien movie? It's called Sus- ...You know what, never mind. As if you'd have any appreciation for the classics..." She sighed and looked him over. "So, you're a magician?"

Arnold's awkward stare finally broke as he looked down at himself and then back up at her with a smile. "Yeah! Do you like it?"

"Hmmm... It needs something... Why the heck are you a magician, anyway?"

"I just thought, well... Since you're going to the party as a witch, I thought I'd go as a magician. That way we... Well, you know. We sort of match. You do magic, I do magic."

Helga's expression softened. He didn't just want to take her to the party, he wanted them to go as a pair. Sure, he had a dorky way of going about it, but the effort was enough to warm her heart anyway. "That's...really cool, Arnold. I...can't believe you'd want-"

"Of course I'd want to. We're a team. By the way, did you learn any magic tricks for the party? I have some little smoke bombs you could use. Oh, I brought a deck of cards!" He reached into his pocket to pull them out, only a few of them fell out to the ground. "Whoops..."

Helga snorted and laughed as he picked up his cards, nearly losing his top hat in the process. "Oh, brother, you are too much. No, _Arnoldo_ , I did not learn any _magic tricks_ for the party. But I think I know just what _you_ need to finish _your_ costume." She walked back inside for a moment, and came out with something completely unexpected, handing it over to him like it was no big deal. "What? Stop staring and just take it. We have to leave, like, _now_. So come on."

Arnold looked at the gruesome object and started to wonder if maybe she really was crazy. "But...why do I need this?"

"How else are you going to saw people in half? Now let's go!"

Arnold shrugged and took the bloody chainsaw, happy to find that it was just a Halloween prop and not a real one capable of hurting anybody. Even if it did look a little too realistic. Especially all the blood. At least it wasn't heavy.

They finally walked away from the Beeper Emporium and started toward Rhonda's house. Neither of them knew what to expect when they arrived, but their thoughts were too occupied to worry. After seeing her in those tights, Arnold couldn't stop thinking about Helga in ways he couldn't understand. He knew they were growing up, like everyone else was, but somehow he never really noticed how much Helga was starting to change. His feelings were in chaos now that he was aware of it. But what was he feeling, anyway? Were they negative feelings, the kind of childish ickiness that prompted some boys to scream about getting cooties? Somehow he knew that wasn't it, which left him wondering, did he actually _like_ seeing her that way? And why?

Similar thoughts went through Helga's mind. She tried to rationalize it, of course. After all he didn't see her naked or anything, or she totally would have died of shock. Or at least she'd feel forced to stay in her room and never leave it for the rest of her life. But he did see her in tights, and that was humiliating enough. Except, what _did_ he see in her? As they walked, she glanced down at herself and wondered just what Arnold was thinking. Was Arnold even the kind of boy who felt attracted to girls that way? And if he was, did he feel attracted to her at all? There was one thing she was certain of, and she had no problem breaking their long, awkward silence to tell him.

"Before we get there, you have to promise me one thing, Arnold."

"Uh, sure. What is it...?"

"What happened back there? We never speak of it again. _Ever_."

Arnold nodded. "Don't worry, I won't..."

"I mean it, Arnold. You tell anyone, and I will _literally_ murder you."

He chuckled nervously at that. "Alright. I won't tell a soul."

She glanced at him and noticed he was still blushing, so she reached over and took his hand. "Okay, I won't actually _murder_ you. I'll just torture you for a little while." She rubbed his hand with her thumb and felt the tension leave him.

"Whatever you say, Helga."

* * *

"I don't know, Sid. It looks kind of purple to me."

"It'll be fine! It's close enough, and it'll look red enough out here anyway."

Sid had a point. It was dark enough outside that she probably wouldn't notice. For now they sat out on the terrace, the bucket of blood hidden under a table in the corner. Stinky's attention was directed inside, however, hoping to catch a glimpse of Lila.

Rhonda's house was surprisingly well decorated. Fake cobwebs hung carefully around the lights, in the ceiling corners, and along the banister of the staircase in the hallway. Spooky ghost projections played in the windows. There were a few giant fake spiders placed here and there on the beige walls, accompanied by bat silhouette stickers. And of course, there were images of skulls and pumpkins and black cats everywhere from candy and decorative cupcakes to the plates and napkins they were served with.

Stinky looked at their bucket of blood and rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, maybe it'll be alright and all, I'm just saying it looks kind of purple. By the way, what's all this purple blood for anyway?"

Sid laughed. "You're a real card, my friend. Now, when the time is right, you need to get Helga on that bench down there, the one between the stairs and the um...the balcony thingy, okay? Now let's go party!" He got up and went back inside, into that big open room where Rhonda usually always held her parties.

"Okey dokey..." Stinky shambled inside after only half-listening to Sid's directions, looking very much like the zombie he'd dressed as.

He had to admit, the costumes were pretty creative this year. Rhonda was a rather elegant interpretation of the Ghost Bride, because there was no way she'd go with a purely scary costume. Much too ugly for her. Speaking of ugly, Curly was running around in a purple coat, a green wig and messy clown makeup, demanding to know the whereabouts of Harvey Dent. Rhonda screamed and scoffed with disgust, naturally, practically chasing him out onto the terrace. Nadine was dressed like some kind of bug person in a white lab coat, though she seemed bored playing DJ in the corner next to the TV while Rhonda was busy hogging attention and trying to flirt with some of the less geeky, non-Curly boys who were there.

Stinky reckoned that Gerald was some kind of jock werewolf while Phoebe was a vampire out of some tween romance novel. Of course right now she was almost pulling off one of Helga's scowls as the two of them sat on the yellow couch next to the doorway.

"You know, Gerald, you could have picked me up on the way here." Gerald didn't even notice her as he quickly spun his head around to face away from her, hoping to see a certain someone walk in next to him. But it was just Eugene, dressed once again as the Abdicator. "Ahem... Gerald, would you please talk to me?"

"Huh?" he mumbled as he turned back around to look at her. "Oh, I... I'm sorry babe, I'm just, uh... Have you heard from Arnold? Or Helga?"

"Have you even _seen_ me yet? You haven't mentioned my costume or anything."

Gerald looked her over and smiled. "I'm sorry, pretty lady. Not sure who you're supposed to be, but you're looking fine to me." He did his best to sound like his usual smooth-talking self, smirking and winking at her to try and sell it, but when he pulled out his phone and stared at it, she couldn't help noticing a rare worried look on his face.

As frustrated as she was with him, she didn't like seeing him nervous like that. It wasn't like him at all. "Hey..." She reached up and touched his arm, bringing his attention back to her. "You've been distracted the whole time since you got here. You keep checking your phone, you're watching the doorway in case Arnold comes through. Please, just talk to me. Tell me what's wrong."

Gerald sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "I kind of...got into a little fight with Arnold on the way here, and... I don't know. I feel bad, I guess, and I just have this feeling something bad is going to happen."

"What did you fight about...?"

He swallowed hard at that. "I told him he should be careful around Helga because I didn't want him to get hurt, and..."

"And...?" Phoebe's look of concern started to give way to more anger than before.

"And I told him she was crazy, and she'd drive him crazy too. So he should stay away from her..."

Phoebe gasped and stood up in front of him. "You said _that_ to him!?" Phoebe took his hand and with a surprising amount of strength, she yanked him off the couch and dragged him out to the terrace, slamming the door shut behind her.

"I can't believe you- ...Brainy, what are you doing out here?"

Brainy, who was sitting at the other side of the terrace in a costume that consisted entirely of a cheap hockey mask and his regular clothes, simply shrugged at them. "Uhhh...I don't know."

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "May we have some privacy for a moment?"

Brainy blinked, saw the flames in her eyes, and ran back into the party. With that settled, Phoebe took a deep breath, turned back to Gerald, and shook her head with disappointment.

"Gerald, how many times do I need to tell you something before it sinks in? Helga is _not_ crazy, she is vulnerable and sad and lonely, and you know what? I find it very unfortunate that Arnold and I are the _only ones_ so far who seem to notice."

Gerald backed away and glanced behind her and noticed that people were starting to watch them through the glass terrace doors, eager to catch wind of any gossip-worthy goods. "Um, can we just-"

"It took years for her to get comfortable with me," Phoebe interrupted sharply, "and now she _finally_ has the one thing she's wanted more than anything in the world, and I promise you she will be a better person because of it. And by the way? Arnold is _clearly_ happy to be with her. Who are you to take that away from _either_ of them!?"

Gerald's shoulders slumped over as his head hung low with defeat. "I know, Phoebe. I'm just trying to look out for him. But still, I...I messed up, I know I did. And I'm sorry. Just, listen..." He took a deep breath to collect his thoughts, and met her eyes with that same worried look he had before. "Something is going down at this party, and we need to look out for _both of them._ Okay? I'm sorry about everything, and I promise I will tell them that. Just... Right now, can we please just watch out for them?"

Phoebe stared into his eyes for a moment and then slowly nodded before hugging him around the waist. "I understand wanting to help our friends. Just don't forget about _me_ , okay? You know you can trust me, and you should trust Arnold too."

He hugged her back and sighed. "I know. You're right, babe. And by the way, I could _never_ forget about you."

When they finally parted, they looked at the terrace doors and noticed that they weren't being watched anymore. Something much more interesting had caught everyone's attention, and Gerald had an idea what it was. He quickly walked back in with Phoebe behind him, and this time his suspicions were correct.

Arnold and Helga had just arrived.


	9. Party Time

**Hearts of Gold**

9\. Party Time

"You got this?" Arnold asked as he looked at Helga to make sure she was alright. Helga nodded. "I got this." With that, they walked inside.

Helga was surprised as they walked through the foyer and into the party room. There were a handful of decent costumes, and the decorations were okay. She'd have preferred a little more fog, and it wasn't quite as gruesome as she would have done herself, but overall it wasn't bad. She was much more surprised when Rhonda and a few other girls walked over.

"Welcome to the party, guys! Arnold, your costume is so..." She glanced down at the chainsaw and blinked a couple times before looking back up. "So...interesting! And Helga, I'm _so_ glad you could come."

Helga could feel herself trying to blurt out some rude insult and laugh in her face, but she fought against it. It was Arnold gently squeezing her hand that gave her the strength to resist such urges. "Um... Yeah, well... It seems like everyone is...having a fun time, so... Thank you for inviting me...?" Granted, it's not like Helga got a personal invitation. Rhonda invited the whole class. Nonetheless, she at least managed to suppress the urge to trade barbs. For now.

Arnold, meanwhile, was on high alert from the moment they walked in, and Rhonda's friendly demeanor only made him suspicious. However, maintaining politeness came much more easily to him. Some part of him still hoped that Rhonda wouldn't pull anything mean, and if she didn't, then it would be for the best if he remained civil. "Helga and I are happy to be here. You really did a great job with everything. We're sure _we_ will have a good time _together_. Won't we, Helga?"

Helga's eyes shifted toward him as Rhonda's eyes widened. "Uh, y-yeah. We um, we s-sure will. Yes sir, m-me and Ar-... Me and Arnold. Good times, heheh..."

Rhonda couldn't believe it. She thought that her eyes were playing tricks on her the day before, what with the friendly banter and the lack of tension between them, but here they were at the party with all this "we" talk. Holding hands, even! The sight left her baffled. How could Arnold be so nice to _her_ after what she did to Harold? After everything she's done to _him_ over the years? Why, it's absolutely absurd! Did Arnold truly have such poor taste after all? Was his pursuit of Lila just a fluke? And if his rebound after Lila was going to be anybody, why wasn't it her?

Not that she ever really thought of Arnold as anything more than a friend. A geek friend, actually. A geek friend who was also poor. No, it wasn't that she ever had any desire to pursue Arnold. He was her friend, but he was also of a lower status than her. It simply annoyed her that she was never pursued _by_ Arnold. And why shouldn't she be? She was the nicest, most educated, and easily the prettiest girl in their class. In fact she'd only become more beautiful as she got older, which probably made her the most gorgeous girl in the entire school. That's what she told herself, anyway.

"Well. You know where the snack table is by now, and do be careful not to spill anything. Most of the stuff in here is worth more than...well, you know what I mean, right?"

Arnold and Helga both sighed. "We know."

"Anyway, Sheena has a game of trivia going, Iggy's telling ghost stories in the study, and Gloria is going to show us how to hold a séance in the dining room!"

"Wait, wait, wait..." Helga laughed incredulously and looked back and forth between Rhonda and Arnold and then took a look around the room. "Okay really, _who is Gloria?_ Seriously, is no one going to fill me in, here?"

Arnold didn't know what to say to that and the Princess just ignored her. "Oh! By the way, what do you guys think of my costume this year?" Rhonda struck a pose as Arnold rolled his eyes and Helga threw up her hands, cursed to never find out just who this Gloria person is and why everyone else seems to know but her.

"Ghost Bride. Real...clever, Rhonda. I like it," Arnold couldn't help but say in a dull monotone. Rhonda pretended not to notice and giggled at his lame compliment.

"And how about you, Helga? What do you think? Aren't I just to die for?"

Helga looked over her costume and couldn't help noticing that Rhonda had already begun to mature at a surprising rate. Rhonda always had a habit of exaggerating things about herself, acting like she was the most wonderful person in the world and everyone couldn't help but love her. Still, however shallow or dishonest she may have been with everyone and herself, one thing was clear: she was indeed a very pretty girl, and now she was just starting to look a bit older than her actual age. Or was she, Helga wondered?

"It's...great, Rhonda..."

Meanwhile Arnold was scanning the crowd, looking for a way out, and made eye contact with Gerald as he and Phoebe walked in from the terrace. At first he glared at his werecat friend, but then he noticed Gerald's expression. Was he trying to be friendly, perhaps make a truce with him? When he saw Phoebe wave at them, he knew he had his escape. "Thanks, Rhonda. We'll see you around, I guess."

"Yeah uh, see you later." _Princess_ , Helga snarled internally. As if Rhonda heard her thoughts, she scoffed and wandered away while they walked through the crowd to their friends.

"Hey guys," Gerald said to try and break the ice. He seemed a little more nervous than usual.

"Hey," Arnold replied a little coolly.

"Sweet costume, Pheebs. Vampire, right?"

"As a matter of fact, my costume is inspired by a book I've been reading called _Within the Realm of Shadows_. It's actually a German novel, originally called _Reich der Schatten_ , but it was translated and published in America earlier this year. The main character, Lucia, meets a vampire named Max in the cemetery and-"

"I could just read the book, you know," Helga said as she crossed her arms. Phoebe rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Whatever you say, Helga."

"Seriously, you did do a great job. And you better let me borrow that when you're done reading it."

Phoebe gave her a little smile and nodded. "I sure will. By the way, Helga, I really like your costume. Although...I'm not completely sure what the, um..." She pointed to her neck, and Helga crossed her arms. "Yeah, I didn't think anyone would get it. But I get it, and that's good enough for me."

Phoebe laughed and turned to look at Arnold then, not sure what to make of his gore-soaked weapon of choice. "So, you're a magician who...saws people in half...with a chainsaw."

Helga laughed, playfully nudging Arnold with her elbow. "He's a real wizard of gore, this one. I must take credit for the last minute accessory, though."

"Yup, she sure is...brilliant." Arnold gulped, still feeling tension between him and Gerald.

Helga looked around the party and couldn't help noticing the way some of the boys were looking at Rhonda. She didn't want to admit how self conscious she felt, so she did the next best thing she could think of: distract herself. "Well, what are we standing around here for? It's a party! Let's find something to do!" Helga suggested loudly. She did have a point, Arnold thought.

"You guys in?" Arnold asked them both. Phoebe and Gerald exchanged looks, as if she was speaking to him in his mind, reminding him of their earlier conversation.

"Yeah, we're in," Gerald said with a nod. "Let's go."

* * *

Helga led the gang of four around the party, eager to see just what Rhonda had planned for everyone. At first they went over to join in Sheena's trivia game, which tested one's knowledge of vampires and ghosts and witches, that sort of thing, as well as scary movie facts. It was no surprise that the game was a cakewalk for Helga, however she did gain a little respect for Gerald. He knew a lot of answers himself.

After that they visited the study to take part in some spooky storytelling. Gerald, being the keeper of tales that he always was, managed to set the mood effortlessly. It was Arnold, however, who told the spookiest tale. It was about two boys who ventured deep into the sewers where they were attacked by a crown-wearing psycho who commanded an army of rats. Helga was impressed, and a little mortified.

They returned to the party room just in time for a game of limbo, and while Arnold managed it pretty well, it was Phoebe who managed to get lower than anyone else at the party.

Eventually they found themselves standing by the snack table. Despite the night they've had so far, there was still tension between the two boys. Gerald, however, was eager to end it, and he walked right up to Arnold to do just that.

"Listen, man, can we like...go talk somewhere?" Arnold was ready to defend Helga, especially after how well she was getting along with everyone, but before any words could come out, Gerald continued. "It's important. Come on, man, it'll just take a minute, then we can come back here and keep the ladies company. Okay?"

Arnold felt the anger leave him. He did say ladies, plural. "Okay." He turned to Helga and touched her shoulder. "You sure you'll be okay? We just...have to work something out real quick."

Helga nodded and looked at Phoebe. "Like we need their protection, right?" She rolled her eyes and smirked as she turned back to Arnold. "Just go already. And if you run into a knife-wielding maniac lurking in the shadows, just tell him Rhonda's looking for him."

"Don't worry, we will," Gerald reassured her, which surprised her as much as it surprised Arnold. "Let's go, my man." Arnold gently squeezed Helga's shoulder before walking off with his best friend. Even though he hadn't heard it yet, he knew he'd accept Gerald's apology. The truth was, words didn't always need to be spoken between them. They could just tell what was going on with each other. Still, Gerald felt it was important enough to have a private talk. Arnold gave Helga one last look before they went out to the terrace and down the steps on the left, sitting on the bench to work out their issues.

"Real pair of knuckleheads. Am I right?" Helga laughed as she shook her head and crossed her arms.

"I'll say," Phoebe agreed, thinking back to her earlier conversation with Gerald. "By the way, I forgot to say it before, but you really look great. You did an excellent job, even if I'm not sure who you're portraying."

Helga's smile faded as she tilted her head. Well, as much as she could with that needle prop attached anyway. "You really think so...?"

"Of course I do...?" Phoebe searched Helga's expression to try and figure out the source of this mood shift. All she knew was that Helga seemed strangely shy all of a sudden, something Helga rarely ever showed around her. "Is something wrong, Helga?"

"Oh, no. No, I'm... Nothing is wrong. I just...have to go to the bathroom real quick."

Phoebe knew something was wrong. Helga didn't seem particularly anxious as if she needed to relieve herself, but Phoebe knew that sometimes Helga just needed a minute to sort things out herself. She just hoped Helga would feel like opening up to her. "Alright. But come find me as soon as you're done, alright? I won't be too far."

"You got it, Pheebs." Helga walked away then. Robert and Joey passed by her in the hallway, heading back to the party it seemed.

Helga chuckled. "Huh. Didn't expect _them_ to be here."

As Helga walked off to the bathroom, Phoebe looked out those two glass doors that led to the terrace. Would those boys really work everything out? It seemed like it would be alright, but then Gerald could be stubborn, and Arnold could be hopelessly naive. After checking on Helga very quickly, she went out to the terrace to join them and was happy to see them doing their official handshake once again.

* * *

Stinky stood by the snack table all alone, scanning the crowd. He knew Arnold and Helga and Gerald and Phoebe were nearby earlier, but they all disappeared somewhere. Meanwhile Sid was out on the terrace waiting for Helga for some reason. He wondered if Sid had some kind of crush on her or something. But then what was all that fake blood for anyway?

He figured it wouldn't matter anyway. Apparently Helga was with Arnold now. It sure was strange, but ever since Phoebe and Gerald started going out officially, it seemed like something was in the air. The boys and the girls looked at each other funny. There was a lot of weird gossip going around. Soon he reckoned everybody would wind up with a boyfriend or girlfriend of their own. Everybody except him.

"Hi, Stinky!"

The tall boy spun around to find Lila, dressed in an old fashioned pinafore dress with a blue and white checkered skirt and puffy white sleeves. Her hair hung down in pigtails, only now they weren't braided. Hanging off her arm was a little wicker basket with a stuffed brown terrier poking out. Altogether, she didn't look too different from how she usually looked, aside from that accessory.

He cleared his throat before answering, "Howdy Miss Lila. Fancy meeting you here...?" He knew it was dumb the moment he said it, but he couldn't take it back now. And yet, Lila actually chuckled a bit.

"Of course!"

Stinky was relieved right away. "So um, you lookin' for something to nibble on? Maybe down a cup of that there witch's brew punch?"

"Thank you ever so much, but no. To be honest, I happened to notice you standing over here, and you looked oh so lonely, and well... No one should ever be lonely at a party, should they?"

Stinky did a double-take. She wanted to keep him company? Him of all people? He could feel himself starting to sweat. He'd wind up saying something stupid, he just knew it. Or worse, he'd bore her to death. So he fell back on the only thing he could think of: "I like your Wendy costume!"

Lila just stared at him for a moment before looking down at herself and laughing. "I beg your pardon, Stinky, but I'm afraid you're mistaken."

Dang it. "Oh, um...so..."

"I'll give you a hint! Look at my shoes."

Stinky scratched his head at the suggestion but shrugged and looked down. She wore white socks up to her slender ankles, and on her feet she wore a pair of sparkly red shoes. For emphasis, she clicked her heels together three times. "Well?"

"Oh, I get it! You're the girl from that old picture where she kills a witch on account of she was gonna take her dog away!"

Lila giggled. He was close enough. "That's right, Stinky! I knew you'd get it." She then looked over his costume and raised an eyebrow. "My, what um... Your costume is ever so creative." Of course his costume was just some old work clothes, a pair of overalls and a plaid shirt, which Sid had tore up and stained with his purple blood.

"Yeah, I'm a zombie or something I guess. It was Sid's idea, tell you the truth. Only I don't mind since I couldn't figure one out myself, and I didn't have much to work with this year."

Lila could relate to that. After all, her own costume was in fact just clothes she already had, plus a plush toy. The only item she had to buy was the shoes, and even though they were just a costume accessory and not really anything fancy, they were still almost more than she could afford. From the way he was slumped over with his hands in his pockets, she could tell he was unhappy with the similar circumstances he found himself in, and she wished she knew a way to help. She reached up and pressed her finger to her lips in thought, hoping to get an idea. And one came to her.

"Would you mind waiting for a moment while I get something? I'll be right back!" She walked off for a moment while Stinky stared after her, totally dumbfounded.

Lila walked out of the party room and out to the front of the house, where among the decorations was a scarecrow, hanging out next to a rather cheerful skeleton. She grabbed the floppy straw hat off the scarecrow's head and some extra straw from his limbs, and then made her way back inside. Stinky was as baffled now as he was when she walked up to him the first time.

"Put this on," she said as she handed the straw hat to him. Once he did that, she handed him the other handfuls of straw she'd taken. "Now just put some of this in your sleeves and in the holes in your shirt, and you're the Scarecrow!"

He did as she suggested and smiled nervously. Sure, he wound up the one feller in that movie who ain't got any brains, but he reckoned he'd rather want a brain to think with instead of one to eat. He couldn't figure out why Lila was helping him, of course, which only made him more nervous. With all this attention, he really couldn't risk saying anything dumb or boring or weird. This was the only chance he had to become good friends with Lila, he was sure of it, and now more than ever the pressure was on him to impress her.

"I, uh...I'll be right back! I think I got...diarrhea!"

With that, Stinky ran off, leaving a bewildered Lila behind at the snack table.

* * *

Helga stared at herself in the mirror. She'd removed the shawl and the wig and set them on the counter next to the sink. Normally she would have looked over that stupid bathroom, just to laugh at how ridiculous it was with the flower print wallpaper and the expensive hair products and candles everywhere, only to remind herself that the bathrooms at "home" were totally disgusting.

This time, however, the only thing that concerned her at the moment was her reflection. She looked at herself from the front, then from the side, scanning her slender figure as if she was expecting to find evidence of some kind of hideous alien infection. She pulled out the neckline of her dress and looked down at herself underneath it, and there were no demonic markings or cannibalistic mutant siblings growing off of her like hideous parasites. So why did she feel the way she did?

Feeling too much like a basket case already, she leaned over the sink to really look at her face. She reached up to run a finger along her brow, stroking where the two eyebrows met in the center above the bridge of her nose. She recalled plucking those hairs out once, but they grew back just the same.

It felt like only yesterday she defied Rhonda and the other girls, mocking them for their obsession with makeup and fashion and looking older than they were. On top of that, Helga already knew her own body was starting to feel weird and uncomfortable, with cramps and aches and other more gruesome horrors. It was ironic. Once she scolded them for trying to age too fast and now she wasn't sure if she was aging fast enough. She didn't even know which would be worse, now.

Was the universe just mocking her again? And how was it mocking her? She knew her sister looked pretty awkward once. She even had the one big eyebrow. Only Olga grew out of it. In photos she'd seen from her sister's many academic achievements, she clearly matured much more quickly than Helga was so far. Was it just slow development? Or would she always be awkward and unattractive? And if she was destined to undergo this rite of passage, how would she come out on the other side? She shook her head at the thought that she might turn into a gross, hairy little monkey girl one day after all.

"Looking for something?"

Helga gasped and spun around. What the heck was Rhonda doing in here? Helga tried to think of a polite way to ask, and settled on "What the heck are you doing in here?"

"Oh, I just wanted to check on you. How's your hand? I bet it stings."

Helga tried to remember Arnold and the hope he had for her, but he wasn't there and it sure felt like Rhonda was deliberately antagonizing her. As such, she felt old defenses going up quickly. "Oh, it's just fine, Princess. Feels a little off balance, though. I might have to wreck the other one to compensate," she snarled.

"Hooo, we are feisty tonight aren't we? Guess I can't be _too_ surprised." Rhonda leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. "But don't worry, I just want you to know I understand why you're so nervous."

"You do...?" With all the strange niceness in the air lately, Helga actually wondered for just a moment if Rhonda was actually coming around too.

"Sure I do. You're probably still jumpy after attacking Harold. Also, it must be embarrassing to come here without a costume..."

That did it. Helga rolled her tattered black sleeves up and prepared to charge at the nasty little self-centered snob. "Keep talking and I'll put your head through that freaking mirror. I don't need you-"

"And it must be hard for you to live up to Arnold's standards all the time."

Helga froze. Rhonda noticed.

"Face it. You had it so much easier before, didn't you? You could stomp and frown and hurl insults and spit balls at anyone you wanted, and everyone feared you. Some of us even respected you. The truth is, you know deep down that's who you're meant to be."

Rhonda stepped closer to Helga, who simply glared at her wide-eyed, unable to either move or say a single word in her own defense.

"You're not smart, which is kind of amazing since your best friend is the smartest girl in class. Is she even really your friend, or does she just feel sorry for you?"

"Shut up..."

"You're not even remotely pretty. Are you sure you don't still have...what was it? Monkeynucleosis? Phoebe was so excited to tell all of us how pathetically naive you were. But now I'm starting to think maybe we were naive, because you clearly still have it. Big feet, lanky arms, terrible posture. Hair in, well..." Rhonda even dared to reach out and flick her unibrow. "Unwanted places."

"Shut...up..." Helga's eyes filled with tears as she balled her hands into fists, one of them stinging with pain. She wanted so badly to grab that finger and snap it like a twig, but she couldn't do it. She couldn't disappoint Arnold again.

"Honestly, Helga, you're one of the ugliest people I've ever met, inside and out. And everyone else feels the same way, you know. At the end of the day..." Rhonda leaned in to whisper to her ear, "Arnold deserves better than you." With those being her final words, Rhonda slowly walked out of the bathroom, leaving Helga all alone.

As she turned around to gather her things, she nearly caught a glimpse of the mirror again and quickly looked away, unable to look at herself right now. Deep down she knew Rhonda was right. Arnold did deserve better than her. She wasn't nice, she wasn't pretty, and she had nothing else to offer. She was ugly from top to bottom.

On top of that, it turned out everyone really did hate her after all. She quickly realized that the reason no one gave her a hard time yesterday wasn't because they didn't know or didn't care what happened. It was because they'd all decided she wasn't even worth the effort to fight back. They knew she could never change, and that was that.

She pulled out her phone to text Arnold that she wanted to go home, but before she could type a single letter, someone started knocking on the bathroom door. Growling with frustration, Helga quickly put her phone away and put the rest of her costume back on as the knocking persisted steadily.

"Dang it, hold on! Criminy!" She swung the door open expecting to see Brainy breathing in that annoying way he does, or Rhonda coming back with a scythe to put her out of her misery, or maybe even freaking Gloria for that matter.

She did not expect to see Stinky. She especially did not expect Stinky to hug her tight, lift her up off the floor, and spin around like he was actually excited to see her.

"Helga! Why you're just the person I need! Like some kind of fairy godmother or such!"

Helga kicked and struggled like a very angry lioness who was trapped in the jaws of a massive crocodile. She hadn't gotten hugged like this since she agreed to be photographed with Olga in those ridiculous pink tights. "LET! GO! _STINKY!"_

Stinky released her and she brushed herself off, thankful to be able to breathe again. "What the heck are you doing!? Why did you just-"

"I need your help, Helga! Please, I'm begging ya!"

"Sheesh, can you quiet down already!? Why do you want _me_ to help you? Of all people? I _just_ beat up your best friend."

Helga had a point, but that didn't matter right now. "Well, I figure no one else knows how sad and lonely I'm feeling deep down."

Helga studied him for a moment. Was this an angle? If it were Sid, she'd immediately be suspicious, but Stinky? He was never very bright, or popular, and she always assumed he was just another dumb jerk like Sid and Harold. Plus, who was she to be giving out advice? She was no Arnold, and she knew it. The last time she tried giving out advice, all she did was get everyone angry at her. However, she thought about how she was feeling just moments ago, and saw something familiar in his eyes. Whatever he was going through, she knew she might actually be able to help. Which bugged her.

"Alright, look. I don't want to be here much longer, but if it's my advice you want, then...fine. Just make it quick."

Stinky started to tell her what troubled him, but soon realized it would be too easy for Lila to hear them. After making sure she wasn't still lurking by the snack table, he carefully snuck through the party room and led Helga outside, down the steps on the right side of the terrace, and to the bench. Whoever else was out there ran up on the other side, giving them the privacy that Stinky apparently needed.

"Alright, alright, you got your stupid privacy. Now start talking, and make it snappy."

And talk he did. Finally, after holding it in for all this time, Stinky was able to speak his mind.

* * *

"It's settled. Gerald, you watch us from a distance. Phoebe, you try to mingle with the crowd in case there's talk of any pranks or retribution against Helga. I'll stay by her side the whole time and try to keep her occupied and having fun."

Gerald nodded in approval. "Sounds like a plan. Just one thing..."

"What's that?" Arnold was glad that after talking out their problems, it was Gerald who suggested coming up with a plan. He just hoped they weren't about to have some disagreement that meant throwing this plan out so they could waste time discussing a new one.

"Shouldn't she have come out of the bathroom by now?"

Arnold and Gerald both looked at Phoebe, who smacked her head with her hand. "Dang it! I should have stayed inside and waited for her!"

"Then let's go!" Arnold's eyes were wide as he and his friends jumped up and rain up the steps to the terrace and into the party room. The three of them made a beeline toward the snack table and then down the hallway to the right of it, only to find the bathroom door wide open with no Helga inside.

Arnold's heart began to race. If she wasn't there, where was she? Could she have gone home? He wondered if she'd been kidnapped or something, but thought that might be too extreme. Or was it? He tried to think of anywhere else she could be, and just then he remembered the various activities going on throughout the house. "You guys go to the dining room, I'll go to the study!" They quickly split up and ran through the house.

As Arnold burst into the study, Iggy, Brainy, and a few other kids all shrieked with terror as if Arnold had arrived at the perfect timing to punctuate the twist ending of one of Iggy's stories. "Has anyone in here seen Helga!?" Arnold hoped that at least Brainy would have some idea, but they all shrugged and shook their heads. As he ran out, his fear only increased. Surely Helga would have called him or sent him a text message by now if she wanted to leave. Right...? As he pondered that question, he met Gerald and Phoebe in the hallway and a sliver of hope came back to him.

"Anything?" Arnold couldn't help but ask in a loud voice.

"Nothing."

Arnold's hope dashed, he pulled out his phone to send her a single text reading, "Where are you?"

"Could Rhonda know something? She was back there when we came in," Phoebe suggested. At that, Arnold's blood ran cold. If anyone was going to pull anything, it was either Rhonda or Sid. It was their handwriting on the note that went around, and given this was Rhonda's party, she would surely be the mastermind.

Arnold stormed into the party room looking for her. She was busy doing her usual thing, of course, bragging about her costume and how expensive everything was and how perfect she was. He knew there was a good person deep down, but right now all he could think of was that note. That and the look in Helga's eyes, full of sadness and fear that he would hate her. Hoping he would never see that again, he walked right up to her, ignoring Gerald and Phoebe as they tried to get him to stop.

Rhonda turned to Arnold with bewilderment, as did many other kids in the room. She'd never seen him so angry before. "Hey, Arnold... Sooo, what do you need? Are you enjoying the party...?"

As Sid quietly tip-toed his way to the terrace doors, completely unnoticed, Arnold stared Rhonda down with his hands balled into fists. "Where. Is. Helga?"

* * *

"I'm really sorry, Helga. I should have never passed that dang football to begin with. This whole thing is my fault, on account of I just ain't special."

As Stinky propped his head up on his elbows, Helga was surprised by the tale he just told her. All this time she thought she was alone, the only one in class who had such feelings. Not only did he have secret feelings for someone in their class who hadn't noticed him, he had feelings of doubt and self loathing that she was shocked she could actually relate to.

"Wow. I never had you pegged for someone with feelings like that."

"Just say it, I'm pathetic, ain't I?"

Helga took a deep breath. This was going to be weird. "Stinky... First of all, I don't even care about what happened the other day. I'm not even mad at Harold anymore."

"You're not?"

"No, that's why I signed his stupid card and apologized. Second of all, you're a lot of things, but you're not pathetic, okay? So just quit your whining and do something about this. Criminy, who is this girl you're so in love with anyway?"

Stinky gulped at that. "Miss Lila Sawyer..."

"Lila? That's the girl? _Lila_?" Just saying the name made her want to vomit.

"Yes, ma'am! She sure is special, alright. I'm just crazy about her."

"Look, Stinky, you're going to have to come up with something better than that. Every boy in our class thinks she's special. Can you honestly say you have deeper feelings than everyone else? How do I know this isn't just another dumb crush like the one you had on _me_ once?"

Stinky shuffled his feet and shrugged. "Well, I reckon she makes me feel the way Arnold always made you feel deep down inside."

Helga's jaw dropped. "Wait, what?" She couldn't believe it. Has he known about her love for Arnold all along? Speaking of Arnold, where was he anyway?

* * *

Rhonda blinked and started to feign ignorance, but Arnold saw right through it. So she rolled her eyes and sighed, crossing her arms. "The last time I saw her we had a little chat in the bathroom." She took a casual sip of punch from her orange plastic cup, knowing that soon he was only about to be more angry. But the poor boy couldn't help it, could he? He was going to have to hear this eventually, she thought.

"What did you talk about, Rhonda?"

"The truth, of course. I'm not known for lying, am I? Not like her, the way she lied to all of us for years. She _especially_ had to lie to _you_ , didn't she?"

Arnold shook his head. "Do you even know what you're saying? She kept her feelings secret for a reason and you know it. She wasn't lying for the sake of it."

"Either way, we both know you could do a lot better than her. Why are you wasting your time with a nasty little brute like her anyway?"

As their argument continued, a crowd formed around them, anxious to hear what the commotion was all about.

Arnold practically snarled at that. "Wasting my time? The only time I wasted was trying to help you! How many times did you swear you'd stop being so arrogant and selfish and mean only to forget everything you promised? You pretended to care about us so-called geeks when you needed glasses, and then what did you do? You threw a party without inviting any of us! When you were poor, all you did was complain about how you were too good to live at the boarding house or do things that a lot of us normal kids have to do all the time! At least with Helga my effort meant something."

"Meant something!? What did all your effort with her mean to Harold, hm? Or did you think the rest of us wouldn't care? Face it, Arnold. She is ugliness personified."

Arnold seethed as he tried in vain to stay calm. "Rhonda, did you actually _say_ any of this to her?"

The dark-haired girl simply took another sip of punch, preferring to let her silence answer for her. Arnold opened his mouth to say something he would have regretted, but his phone went off in his pocket. He pulled it out quickly and at last, Helga had texted him a single word in reply: "outside".

"Rhonda, do you have any idea how much you just hurt her? How could you do this?"

"She _deserved_ it. Right, everyone?" As Rhonda looked around, she did not expect to see how everyone was looking at her. "Right...?"

Arnold put his phone away and walked up closer to her until they were face to face. "You know something, Rhonda? I think I have you figured out now. I know why you did this, and it wasn't because of Harold. You never cared about Harold before, and I don't think you do now. What I do think is, you _need_ to keep Helga a miserable bully, and you know why?"

She stared at him wide-eyed. "Go ahead. Tell me _why_ , Arnold."

"Because you're scared that if she really is a good person deep down? That if she proves you wrong and changes for the better? Then no matter how good you look on the outside, or how rich you are, that would make you the _ugliest_ person in our class."

As everyone gasped almost in unison, Arnold walked away from a stunned Rhonda and over toward the terrace doors.

A chill went down his spine when he saw that the doors were already open.

* * *

Helga sighed as she put her phone away, having just texted Arnold back. She knew she should have checked in with Arnold before sneaking away with Stinky, but between the mood she was in earlier and Stinky's desperation, she hadn't noticed that he wasn't outside with them. Or that she got a text message from him a few minutes ago.

" _Anyway_ , how long have you known about my feelings toward Arnold?"

"Well why else would you want me to pretend I was your boyfriend? I thought you were trying to make him jealous. I reckoned you just wanted him to like you like you."

Helga had to laugh. "Oh man, that is rich!" This whole time she thought no one knew, and of all people, it was Stinky who had learned her secret ages ago. "Why didn't you tell anyone? You could have made me the laughing stock of the whole school."

"I guess I never thought of it."

Helga took a deep breath. They'd gone too far off track, and despite having actually empathized with Stinky freaking Peterson, she wasn't too thrilled at the idea of discussing her own love life with him. "Alright, we're getting off topic here. This whole Lila thing... If you really feel that way about her, you have to stop feeling so sorry for yourself. You're just going to get all tangled up and fall flat on your face, got it?"

"Okey dokey."

"Next thing you have to do is talk with her. Just tell her how you really feel and ask her out. If she's as much of a...nice and mushy and just, annoyingly kind person as you think she is, then what the heck are you so worried about? If she says no, I know a guy she's said no to before, he'll-"

"HELGA, LOOK OUT!"

At the sudden sound of Arnold's voice, Helga quickly spun around to look up toward the terrace, only to watch as the mauve storm rained down upon her.


	10. Cursed

**Hearts of Gold**

10\. Cursed

Helga jumped up from the bench, completely soaked in what looked and smelled like fake blood, only it was a bit more purple in color. Immediately the cool night air chilled her as her ruined costume clung to her skin.

Stinky stood up as well, having caught a little of it himself, but nowhere near as much as Helga just did. "Sid, you dang fool, what in the heck did you do that for!?"

"What do you mean!? This was your plan too!"

Helga slowly turned toward the new friend she thought she'd just made as everyone started to pour out onto the terrace to watch.

"Why Helga, I didn't know he... You gotta believe me, I... I'm..." Stinky looked up at Sid and opened his mouth to start yelling back, but he saw Lila among the crowd. The look on her face was too much for him. Unable to look at her a moment longer, he turned back to Helga. "Please, tell her I didn't... I didn't do this..."

"What the heck, Stinky!? Are you a traitor too!?" Sid yelled out to him. Then he felt a tap on his shoulder. "Huh?" As he looked back to see who it was, Arnold grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him against the terrace railing. The boy squealed in terror and cried out for help, but no help came.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't-"

"Just let him go, Arnold."

Arnold let go of Sid's shoulders and turned around to see Helga walking up the steps, dripping fake blood everywhere. His heart sank at the sight of her. "Helga..."

"Don't," she snarled. "I just need to be alone."

As she walked away, her makeup running from both fake blood and tears, Arnold held a hand to his chest, his heart hurting for her. Everyone just watched as she turned down the hallway and went back to the bathroom, slamming the door shut.

Sid started to try and sneak down the steps, but Stinky cut him off. He turned to go back up, but there stood Gerald. "Nope. Not getting away this time, pal."

Arnold looked down at the trail of fake blood from the terrace into the house and swallowed hard. He knew Helga wanted to be alone, but something told him she needed him now more than ever. So he followed that trail and walked inside. He didn't know what she was going to say or how she would react, but he left her alone once already and she only got hurt because of it.

As he walked inside, Rhonda walked in behind him. She grimaced at the sight of the fake blood all over the carpet, and looked up at him. "That witch had better pay to clean this carpet, Arnold!"

Arnold froze in place. If he didn't have a job to do, he'd turn around and remind her that the mess was Sid's fault. But it wouldn't matter. She'd blame Helga anyway.

A moment passed as he slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out a single playing card. Without even looking behind him, he snapped his arm back and the card flew through the air. Rhonda squealed as the black queen of diamonds sliced right into her orange cup, causing her to drop it and spill her punch all over her precious carpet.

He didn't bother to look back at the commotion that started as he continued to walk away, down the hall and to the bathroom door. He took a deep breath before gently knocking.

"Can I come in, Helga?"

There was a pause at first. "Just go away."

Arnold winced and slowly opened the door anyway, peeking inside carefully to make sure he didn't see anything he wasn't meant to. Instead he saw Helga sitting in the bath tub, holding her knees against her chest and hiding her face. "I mean it, Arnold. I want to be alone."

"What are you doing in here?"

"...I just want to go home, and I'm not sure what to do."

The way she spoke scared him. Not because she had resorted to her old hostile, fiery tempered self. She hadn't done that. Instead she spoke with a small, wounded voice, like she had resolved herself to a life of misery. He set his hat down on the counter and dropped his cape and his jacket to the floor, not even caring if he got any purple blood on them. After pulling a handkerchief out of his sleeve and running it under some lukewarm water, he walked over to the tub and got down on his knees beside her.

"I'm sorry, Helga. I shouldn't have left you alone before, and I can't leave you alone now."

Helga began to growl. "Don't you even start that. I mean it, Arnold."

"I didn't mean... Listen, I'm here to help, alright?" He reached over toward her, but she smacked his hand away.

"Help...?" Helga slowly turned to look at him now. With her makeup and the purple blood all running down with strands of her grey wig clinging to her face, she was quite a mess. "Help, Arnold? You're here to _help!?"_

"Yes, Helga. Just let me-"

"There are some things you cannot help, Arnold. Why don't you understand that!?"

"Listen to me, I-"

"Why should I!? Why don't you listen to me for a change, huh!? Criminy, all you do is go on and on like some kind of shrink, you know that!? You think you can give everyone advice and just magically wish away their problems, like some our fairy godparent or something! Did it ever occur to you that you don't have the right to get in everyone's business like that!?

"Helga, please-"

"You can't help everyone, you idiot! When are you going to figure out that you cannot solve every problem! There are some things you cannot help, Arnold, and guess what!"

"Just-"

"I'm one of them! Rhonda was right about me, and you'll just have to accept that you will never be able to fix-"

"SHUT UP!"

She gasped, wincing like the wind was knocked out of her. In all her years, he has never yelled at her like that before. She looked at him in shock, speechless, staring with wide, tear-filled eyes. As if that wasn't shocking enough, however, Arnold reached over and began to wipe her face with his damp handkerchief. He moved slowly, gentle as could be, careful not to get in her eyes. She sat as still as she could, though her lip trembled as new tears started to fall.

"I'm sorry, Helga. I didn't mean-"

"I know," she whispered. "It's okay. I get it. I didn't...mean to get all hysterical like that..."

"Still, I shouldn't have yelled at you..." Arnold started to pull away from her, but she reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Stay... Please, don't go," Helga whispered.

Arnold reached out to continue cleaning the makeup and the fake blood away from her face, but he paused. "You know, if you'd rather do this yourself..."

"And miss out on you pampering me? Fat chance, bucko." She tried to sound nonchalant, but this level of closeness, of careful affection, almost overwhelmed her.

A sad smile formed on her face as she stared into the eyes of her guardian angel as he continued to tend to her. Those perfect, beautiful green eyes full of love and compassion. He reached up with his other hand and pulled her wig away, tossing it to the other side of the tub. Her long blonde hair was wet with the purple mixture too, but not as bad as the wig was. He ran his fingers through her golden locks and brushed her hair behind her ear.

"I like your real hair better."

"You do?" Helga squeaked. Of course the wig was hideous by design so he was probably trying to lighten the mood with a little humor, but he never complimented her hair before to begin with.

"Yeah. I do." Arnold took a deep breath before continuing. "Listen... What Rhonda said was wrong, alright? She was all wrong, about everything. You need to know that everyone doesn't hate you like that."

"I doubt that, Arnold. Everyone knows what I did, and I bet everyone knew what was coming too. They all planned this..."

Arnold gulped. "I didn't want to tell you, but...a note did go around at school. Rhonda and Sid wrote it together. _They_ did this, Helga."

She sighed at that. "No one stopped them, did they?"

Arnold winced and slowly shook his head. "No... But you still have me. And Phoebe. And I think Gerald's coming around too. We had a good talk, and we were planning on stopping all this but... Stinky lured you away, and we couldn't find you, and-"

"I'm not sure about that, actually."

"About what...?"

"Stinky. He didn't seem like he was scheming something. I mean, he probably helped Sid with the blood, and he did get me outside, but... He actually came to me for help." She looked into his eyes then. "Do you think he did this too?"

Arnold paused to think for a moment. Stinky used to be more of a jerk when he was younger, or at least he acted like it. Mostly because of Harold, he thought. But he had noticed a change in Stinky's attitude over the last year or so. He stopped wearing those spiked wristbands and the stupid things he was willing to join Sid and Harold in doing were more harmless than before. Even if they were very stupid. Still, whether it was the Yahoo Soda debacle or the giant pumpkin, Arnold wasn't sure, but something seemed to humble him. Now Stinky was even more quiet and reserved, though Arnold couldn't figure out why. But would he still be willing to join in on the kinds of pranks and schemes he and Sid and Harold used to do?

It was tough, so he gave her the only answer he could give. "Well... What do _you_ think?"

Helga took less time than he did to think it over. "I think he helped Sid...but he didn't know what it was for. Stinky's had other stuff on his mind lately, and... I can't tell you that, okay? It's his business, not mine, and _no freaking way_ am I going to be a rotten little gossip like Rhonda."

Arnold slowly smiled, proud to see her so considerate, and nodded with approval and understanding. "Okay." He got up to run the handkerchief under the water once more, and Helga closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around herself.

"I'm rotten enough as it is. I just... I don't know, I feel like I deserve this. To be humiliated in front of everyone. Maybe I'm cursed."

"Don't say that, Helga," Arnold said as he knelt back down beside her. He reached over to resume washing that mess away, trying to get it out of her hair too. Helga opened her eyes and looked into his, giving him pause.

"Honestly? I feel the worst about what I did to you all these years. There were so many times I wanted to open up to you, to be nice to you, but old habits got in the way, and... If I haven't apologized already, then... I'm really sorry, Arnold."

Arnold took a deep breath. "Well, I forgive you. And everyone out there will forgive you too. It might not happen right away, and but give them a chance. I'm pretty sure right now, they're all mad at Rhonda and Sid. Not you."

Helga sighed. "You know, Football Head, some people are always going to be jerks. It's not easy for me, and for them? Who knows? But... You gave me a chance..."

"And you're doing great. I'm proud of you, Helga."

"In that case... I guess I can try. It'll be easier if you don't ditch me, by the way." She said with a light smirk.

"Point taken. And you know, you should really try to forgive yourself, too."

"Whatever you say, Arnoldo." She started to roll her eyes, but remembered she'd better stay still if she didn't want a dirty handkerchief poked into one.

Arnold shrugged as he kept going, carefully washing away all the fake blood, all the costume makeup, all the tears, and all of her pain until her face was clean again. Helga's heart skipped a beat when he stroked her cheek with his thumb. The way he looked at her didn't seem like one of pity or disgust. It was somewhere between admiring his handiwork and...was he admiring her, she wondered?

"Arnold..."

"Yes, Helga?"

She gulped and broke away from his gaze for a moment, just long enough to swallow the lump in her throat. When kept her gaze away as she nervously bit her lip. "Am I...pretty?"

Arnold swallowed hard as she asked him that, her voice so shy and timid that it broke his heart. He leaned over and kissed her sorrows away, letting his lips linger against hers for a moment before pulling away.

"Of course you are. You are beautiful inside and out, and don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise."

"Really? I mean... You really mean that, Arnold?"

"Absolutely, I do. Now try and smile for me, okay?"

She nodded and grinned widely, with a sweetness that Arnold rarely got to see. "Okay..."

After giving her a moment to reflect on his words, Arnold took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. "Now..." Arnold crossed his arms and smirked at her. "What do we do about Sid and Rhonda?"

"Well, I thought about putting Rhonda through that mirror over there, but I didn't touch her. Figured you wouldn't want me to..."

"I'm glad you didn't, but we still need to do something to get both of them back."

Helga's brow raised at that. "What do you mean...?"

"I mean, they're both huge jerks who absolutely need to pay for what they did. They need to learn a lesson so they never do anything like this again."

"Do you really mean that, Football Head...?"

With a mischievous tone he replied, "I mean it, Helga. Let's get them back."

Her eyes lit up at the sound of that, and her girlish grin grew wicked. She didn't know where this vengeful side was coming from, having known him to be such a goody two shoes over the years, but she had a feeling it was there ever since that hot summer day when he incited a riot and almost flipped the Jolly Olly Man's truck. She liked seeing this side of him finally emerge.

"Very well, my dear Arnold... What do you have in mind?"

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"You really did it this time, man." Gerald shook his head as he sat next to Sid with his arms crossed. "What the heck were you thinking?" Sid sat fuming in one of the black chairs Rhonda had set out in front of the entertainment center. The fun was essentially over now, and the partygoers left remaining were all speaking in hushed tones. Only now it wasn't just Arnold and Helga who were the subject of much gossip. Sid and Rhonda had been tossed into the mix, with conspiracies of secret love triangles full of jealousy and backstabbing like out of a soap opera.

"He wasn't thinking at all, the little creep," Rhonda snarled. "Maybe I should make _you_ pay for all this mess."

Sid did a double-take. "Uh, what the heck Rhonda!? This whole thing was your idea in the first place! You said she should pay for what she did, remember!?"

"My idea!? It wasn't my idea to drop a bucket of slime on her! And what kind of payback is that anyway? Slime can be washed away. _My_ idea, my _real_ idea that is, will stick with her for a long time."

"Ahem..."

Rhonda turned around at the sound of a voice that was usually small and timid, but had a much more authoritative tone now. A very angry Phoebe Heyerdahl slowly stalked up to Rhonda then, staring up at the much taller girl without the slightest hint of intimidation.

"Rhonda Wellington Lloyd, if what you've done is going to stick to _anyone_ here, it will stick to _you_. Mark my words, none of us will forget about this. And even if we do, Helga won't."

Gerald's eyes widened at the sight. Phoebe was never confrontational like this, especially in front of anyone. But he tilted his head when he noticed his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and checked his messages...and grinned at what he saw.

"She's right, Rhonda," Gerald joined in. "If you think Helga was a pain before, she'll _really_ be out to get you for this."

Rhonda huffed with annoyance. "What are you two going on about?"

"Helga has power you can't possibly comprehend." Phoebe crossed her arms. "Power that even I can't explain with all my scientific knowledge."

"What kind of power?" asked a trembling Sid, eyes wide with fear. "You don't mean... _supernatural_ power do you?"

Rhonda laughed and shook her head. "Don't be silly! That is absolutely preposterous, and you know it. What, is she a witch or something? I knew she didn't come with a real costume," she said with a chuckle, so proud of her childish insult. "But seriously, do you honestly expect me to believe she has actual magic powers?"

"She has actual magic powers!?" Sid shrieked as he started to panic. "Gerald, you have to let me out of here. Please, man, I'm begging you! I'll do anything you want, anything! You name it, buddy!"

"Nope. If I help you leave, I'm getting cursed too."

"CURSED!?"

Just then, Arnold came running out of the hallway, looking like he'd just seen the devil herself. "You guys, Helga is acting really weird. She started saying things I couldn't understand, like it was another language. I could only make out two words: Sid and Rhonda."

"NO!" Sid cried out, jumping up from his chair, but Gerald grabbed his arm and pulled him back down. "No way, buddy. You're in for it now."

"Gerald's right! If you guys leave, there's no telling what she'll do! She could level the entire town for all I know!" Arnold started to pace the floor. "I can try to talk her out of it, but I don't think she'll listen!"

As Arnold kept everyone's attention, with other partygoers starting to join in the panic, Phoebe snuck her way over to Nadine in the DJ's corner. Phoebe whispered in her ear, and a smile crept onto her face. After syncing her phone's audio to the computer, she dialed Helga and put her phone on mute. With that settled, Phoebe quietly rejoined the others.

"Guys, did anyone else hear that?"

The sound of thunder shook the room, and the colorful lights which had been constantly shifting throughout the evening suddenly all turned red. The kids began to scramble, running around the room like a bunch of wild animals.

"What happened to the lights!?"

"Where's the thunder coming from!?"

"It feels like it's coming from inside the house!"

"WHY SO SERIOUS!?"

"Shut up, Curly!"

"Are we all cursed!?"

"I'm okay!"

"LET ME GO I CAN'T BE CURSED LIKE THIS!"

"Guys, stop! You're destroying _everything!_ Please, stop this!" Rhonda cried out, but it was no use. As the sounds of the storm intensified and the lights began to flicker, the panic only increased. Chairs were broken. The couch was torn. Paintings fell off the wall. Curly's psychotic laughter only made the whirlwind of sound that much more horrifying. Sid was hiding under the snack table. Eugene's head was stuck in a pumpkin. Rhonda fell to her knees and held her head in her hands.

And then, cutting through the madness, Helga's voice echoed loudly through the entire room. "ENOUGH!"

The cacophony of madness suddenly fell silent as Helga appeared in the doorway, accompanied by a mighty crash of thunder and lightning. With her tattered black dress still dripping with what looked all too much like blood, and her blonde hair hanging down, clinging to her face as her wild eyes cut daggers across the room, she was the very image of evil personified.

"I came here to enjoy myself, to have a fun time with my friends, and what do I find? A plot to ruin my evening? To humiliate me!? I can't stand it, all your putting me down! So, I'll put a spell on you, because... Well, because you freaking deserve it, that's why!"

Sid fell to her feet then, hands clasped as though in prayer. "Please don't curse me! I'll do whatever you want! I'll do all your homework for the rest of the year!"

"Not...good...enough!" Helga threw up her hands and Sid crawled away screaming. _What a baby_ , she thought. She then rolled her eyes back as far as she could and began to chant in strange tongues. Sort of.

"Aday duey dembellah! Give me the power I beg of you! Mater superiorum, tenebram, lackaram! Avada cadaver silencio! Uh...Gojira versus Mosura! Tremble! _Tremble! TREMBLE!"_ Helga cackled maniacally as clouds of smoke appeared around both Sid and Rhonda, and everyone in the room screamed bloody murder. At that moment, a bloody chainsaw appeared over Sid's shoulder and buzzed loudly in his ear.

Sid finally had enough and ran out of the room, out of the house, and down the street, both to try and escape the horrible fate he had created for himself and to keep everyone from seeing the wet spot on the front of his pants. Rhonda, meanwhile, stared up at Helga with tears in her eyes. Whether it was from genuine fear and sorrow over the horror taking place or from one of Arnold's dorky magic smoke pellets, Helga wasn't sure.

"Please, just stop! What do you want from me!?"

"What do I want!? I want you to suffer, foolish mortal! I want you to despair like I despaired! I want to crawl into that bottomless pit where your soul should be and show you the pain you have instilled, show you what a broken heart truly feels like! Most of all? I want you to BEG!"

Rhonda looked all around the room, desperate for anyone to help her. Now that the smoke had begun to clear, she only noticed now that the others were all following Sid and running away. The thunder stopped, the regular lights came back on, and the only people left were she and Helga, Arnold, Gerald, Phoebe, and Nadine.

"Nadine...? Please, make her stop!"

Nadine simply crossed her arms. "I'm sorry, Rhonda. I don't like what Helga did either, but what you did was pretty bad too."

Arnold dropped the fake chainsaw walked over to stand beside Helga as he began to speak. "Nadine is right, Rhonda. Helga really is sorry for what she did, and you would have known that if you had just talked to her about it. We're almost in middle school, you guys. We should be setting a better example, not a worse one." He then looked directly at Rhonda. "What you did was really cruel, and hurtful. I'm sorry, Rhonda, but _you_ did this. You and Sid together."

Rhonda looked from him over to Helga as tears began to flow. "I... I'm s-sorry, Helga... What can I do? Please, just t-tell me..."

Helga glared down at the pathetic rich girl as she held her face in her hands. Savoring the moment just a little longer. "What you can do is stop your whining and get out of here while we clean this stuff up. Nadine, take her somewhere she can relax."

"Huh?" Rhonda met Helga's gaze once more, only Helga's expression was no longer one of rage and hostility. She was more difficult to read this time. She seemed a little annoyed, and perhaps she even saw pity in the blonde girl's eyes, but most of all she seemed tired. "But... What about the curse?"

Helga scoffed. "You've been watching too many scary movies. Just go."

Rhonda stood up and rubbed her arm, her head still hanging with shame. Nadine put a hand on her back and started walking out with her, but Helga called back over to them. "Wait..." Rhonda turned to look at her, and Helga walked over to say one more thing.

"What you said before really hurt me. I shouldn't have beat up Harold, but you shouldn't have said what you said either. Okay, so you're worried about a bunch of _stuff_ getting broken. Big deal. You almost broke _me_ tonight. I may be rough around the edges but I'm still a person, and I still have feelings even if I don't always share them. So can we please just end this crap here? It's our last year at P.S. 118 and I don't want it to be a living hell."

Rhonda stared into Helga's eyes. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. This was not the Helga she knew at all. Was Arnold rubbing off on her? Or had she actually misjudged the girl? She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. "Okay. And, I'm sorry," she whispered. She turned away and kept walking with Nadine.

The gang stood in silence, watching as Rhonda left the room. Phoebe walked over to the DJ area to turn off the storm sounds as Arnold went over to Helga and touched her shoulder.

"Now _that_ was freaky," Gerald remarked as he shook his head.

Helga turned around to look at Arnold. "Think we went too far?"

Arnold laughed. "Yeah, I think we did," he said with a shrug. "But I'm still proud of you for that last part. And I can't believe you volunteered to stay behind and clean all this mess."

"Yeah, well I don't really _want_ to play maid for Miss Lloyd, but it did get a little crazier than I thought it would. Plus you just know there's no way Rhonda would have to clean it herself. Rhonda's parents would just throw some money at it and wish it clean."

"What about Sid?" Gerald asked with a little chuckle. "You got him real good."

"Let the little rat squirm for a while. He'll figure it out eventually." Helga walked to the middle of the room to survey the damage and took a deep breath, rolling up her sleeves. "Alright, fellas. Let's get to work before I change my mind."

"Or what? You gonna put a spell on me too?" Arnold teased.

"How do you know I haven't already?" This time it was Helga giving him the half-lidded gaze, turning his face redder than the punch.

"Um... Alright then, let's get started."

As Phoebe and Gerald both rolled their eyes, the gang got to work. Phoebe put a little music on, and soon they actually found themselves having fun with it. Pictures were put back on the wall. Stains were scrubbed out. Slowly, the room started to come back together, with the four friends enjoying themselves all the while.

Stinky watched from the darkness of the terrace outside, wondering if they planned on coming out to hose down all the fake blood. Not that it mattered much to him. He'd be gone before they noticed him, the only sign that he was there being a straw hat he left on the table.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Alright, Arnold. Just try not to be too late, okay? Your dad and I are beat as it is, so I can't pick you up if I'm sleeping... Okay, I will... Love you too, honey. See you two later." Stella hung up the phone and walked back into the living room, taking her seat next to a green-faced Miles holding an ice pack against his forehead. There was still candy corn all over the floor from yet another argument between Oskar and Ernie. Grandpa's Dracula cape was discarded over his chair. Half a bowl of cold popcorn sat on the coffee table. The television was still on at a low volume, still playing old monster movies.

"Kid on his way home yet?" He asked with a little groan.

"Afraid not, babe. He and his friends are staying a little later to clean up, so I'll have to drive out and pick them up instead. Also he did ask me to bring plenty of towels for some reason..."

"What kind of pool party doesn't provide towels?"

"Really, Miles? A pool party in October?"

"...Could be an indoor pool," he grumbled.

"Whatever. I'm not sure what happened, but Arnold did make it sound like there was quite a mess."

Miles chuckled at that, remembering all the messes he and his friends used to make. "Quite a mess, huh? Cool... Heh, you know I bet I _look like_ quite a mess." He pulled the ice pack away from his head and closed his eyes. He knew he should have said no to those tall Frankenboots.

"Well, honey, maybe next time you should be more mindful of your _head_ instead of staring down at your feet the whole time." Stella took the ice pack and pulled up his pant leg to apply it to his shin.

"Why'd the doctor have to make such a tall monster? Between the platform boots and the huge head, I swear he was trying to compensate for something."

Stella playfully smacked his arm. "You rascal."

Miles smirked at her. "I'm just saying, I don't think I needed them," he said with a wink.

Stella rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You better not talk like that with the boy around. We don't need him getting any ideas." She almost shuddered at the thought. Her mind began to wander, and she stared out into space as she tried to imagine the party. Was eleven too young to start drinking? Sure, none of them could pass for the legal drinking age, but all it would take was an irresponsible older friend or sibling. Unless the Lloyds had alcohol in the house, then their daughter might be able to find it.

Of course such vices were not the scariest thought that crossed her mind.

"So when do you think we should make those dinner plans?"

"It's a little late for Burger King, dear."

Stella blinked in disbelief. "What... No, you goofball, I'm talking about Arnold's friend Helga and her family. Remember?"

"Ohhh, yeah. Why did you want to meet her parents anyway? They're not getting married yet."

"Yet? What is this 'yet' that you speak of?"

"I'm just saying, we could just let him have his little girlfriend over, let them hang out like kids do, and she can join us for dinner. What's the big deal anyway? Gerald's been over plenty of times and we don't make him bring his parents."

"First, I would like to meet his parents some time, actually. I bet they're very nice. Second, she's not his girlfriend. They are eleven. And third, the big deal is that Gerald is not a preteen girl full of hormones she doesn't understand, and who knows what's going through our boy's head when he's around her?"

Miles rolled his eyes. "Really? Come on, hon, Arnold's not that kind of kid. You said it yourself, he's only eleven. They both are."

"I'm just saying, I remember being Helga's age, and I was starting to turn heads myself," she almost said with a little pride in her voice.

"Sure you were," Miles laughed.

"Oh yeah? What do you think?"

"What do I think? Of what?"

"What do you think I was like when I was their age? Duh. You're such a know-it-all, you tell me." Stella crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, anxious to hear this.

Miles closed his eyes and folded his arms behind his head. "Oh, you were probably just nasty."

Stella gasped. "Oh was I?"

"For sure. Just absolutely disgusting. Face full of zits and boils, probably hunched over like Quasimodo. And your teeth!"

"Hey, I thought you liked my teeth!" She chuckled as she shoved his shoulder a bit. "You jerk!"

"I bet your teeth were so rotten they made your breath smell like old meat. Just really old, nasty rotten meat. Heck, you didn't even need the old ladies to cook your lunch, all you had to do was breathe on it!" He started laughing too, and at that Stella smacked him in the face with a throw pillow.

"You take that back!" Stella giggled profusely.

Miles winced but he kept laughing. "The kids used to call you Godzilla because of that one time your breath knocked down a bee's nest on the playground! And all the bees flew away!"

At that point, Stella and Miles were both rolling and roaring with laughter. Miles started to simmer down first as the throbbing in his head had intensified with all his gasps and guffaws. Stella began to calm down as well when she reached over to put a hand on his chest, all snuggled up close to him now.

"You're so bad," she teased.

"Not as bad as you." Miles winked at her with that smirk she loved so much. She stared at his face as he let out a long sigh of relaxation before reaching up to rub the corners of his mouth with his fingers. "Now my mouth hurts too."

"Want me to kiss it and make it better?"

"You know I do."

Stella placed her hand against Miles's cheek and leaned over to kiss him tenderly, with all her love. She couldn't believe she went ten years without being able to kiss him like this. How did she not go insane? How did she even survive? When at last their lips parted, they stared into each other's eyes as if trying to memorize every detail. But they didn't need to, for they knew each other's eyes as well as they knew their hearts.

"Stella?"

"Hm?"

"Arnold's going to be okay. He's a smart kid, and he has us looking out for him."

Stella nodded and closed her eyes, laying her head against his chest. "I know. It's just... What if he makes a mistake?"

"Then we'll be here for him. Together."

Stella felt him put his arm around her, holding her against him. As she felt his chest rise and fall so peacefully, she smiled as she felt his calmness envelope her as well. "Thanks, honey."

"You're always welcome." He closed his eyes too, and together they waited for Arnold to call them back for a ride home. They just hoped they had enough time to savor this moment together.

"Miles?" Stella whispered.

"Hm?"

"Is there any candy left?" she asked quietly with a bit of a girlish whimper.

That little girl voice never failed to warm his heart, and he reached up to gently run his fingers through her hair. "I don't think your disgusting monster teeth can take much more without falling out, sweetheart."

Stella chuckled softly. "Whatever you say, Frankenstein."

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Rhonda watched from her bed as Nadine walked out, leaving her all alone so she could help the others finish downstairs before going home. As the door closed, she pulled out her phone and looked at her new contact.

It wasn't that she really wanted Harold in her phone. She didn't plan on calling him or texting him often, if at all. But as she and her best friend talked quietly in the comfort of her luxurious modern bedroom, she began to wonder why she did what she did. She told herself that it was because of Harold, but was it really? She thought back to the day before.

At lunch time, Sid and Stinky and even Joey Stevenson passed a card around for everyone to sign. As far as she knew, Joey wasn't hanging out with them as much lately. When the little dweeb with the missing tooth came around to her table, she was too busy to put her name down. When Nadine reminded her of this, she insisted that no such thing had occurred, but her friend was right. She was the only kid who didn't sign it. Even Helga signed the stupid thing, and it was her fault he missed out on the party anyway!

It was then that she found some empathy for the boy. She did have a reputation for throwing the best parties around. Everyone in the school knew that. Even Harold knew that, and because of Helga he missed out on Halloween this year. One of his favorite holidays, since he had free reign to eat as much candy as he wanted. Plus whenever her parties had food and snacks, they were catered quite nicely. And Helga took all of it away from him. How dare she ruin the party? How dare she-

Rhonda sighed and stuffed her head between two pillows with the realization that she was once again fixating on Helga. She couldn't even feel bad for that poor slob without raging against Helga in her mind.

Impulsively she picked up her phone and dialed Harold's home number without even considering the time. She cursed herself for not checking before she called, but with the phone ringing it was too late to turn back now.

"Hello?" asked a rather confused Mrs. Berman.

"Hello, um... Mrs. Berman, it's... I'm Rhonda, one of Harold's friends from school. We had a party tonight at my house, and... I guess I feel bad that he couldn't come, so I just wanted to...see how he's doing...? If it's not too late?"

"Why that is so sweet. Well, it is a little on the later side, but I'll see if he's still up. You just wait right there, I'll bring him the phone."

Rhonda let out a little sigh of relief that Mrs. Berman wasn't upset for getting a call at this time of night, and she turned onto her back, staring up at her ceiling. She listened as the disgustingly friendly older woman went upstairs to Harold's room, and heard some muffled chatter. She cringed when she heard the woman refer to her as "a little girlfriend from school" but if she knew Harold at all, she expected him to cringe too.

"Hello?" answered Big Patty Smith.

"Big Patty!?" Rhonda sat straight up, not expecting this at all. The gossip wheels in her brain started turning at first, but then she knew better than to mess with Big Patty or she'd wind up worse than Harold.

"Hello Rhonda. Why are you calling so late?" the girl deadpanned.

"Um... Well, why are _you_ at Harold's house so late? Hmmm?" She immediately regretted her words as she said them, biting her lip with frustration. "I mean... Why are-"

"I came to drop off some candy for him. I thought maybe the guys would be here but aside from Stinky dropping his card off, no one bothered to visit him yet, so I stayed for a while."

Rhonda gulped at that. No one visited him at all today? Not even Sid or Stinky, who apparently just dropped off his card and left? Heck, Arnold didn't even show up to see him!? That was hard for her to believe. "Wow... Well, at least he wasn't alone, since he couldn't come out tonight..."

"Yeah. How was the party?"

Rhonda sighed and fell back down onto her bed. "Miserable."

"How come?"

"Well, Sid and I each got revenge on Helga in our own way and it completely backfired on us. Helga got us right back in the end, and Arnold even helped!"

"Really?"

"It's so unlike him! I tell you, she's a bad influence on him," Rhonda grumbled. "The old Arnold would never be so...so...mean! They destroyed the entire room!"

There was a pause on the other end for a moment, as Rhonda waited for Patty to agree with her, to swear that they'd team up and find a way to destroy them once and for all. Not just for ruining her party and saying those awful things to her, which would be the main reason, but also for beating up Harold too. Kind of.

"What did you do?"

Or not. "I... Well, we... Okay, so I cornered Helga in the bathroom and told her she was ugliness personified and that Arnold deserved better than her, and later Sid poured a bucket of fake blood on her. I broke her spirit and Sid ruined her costume. There, you happy?"

"That sounds very cruel, Rhonda."

"What are you _talking_ about!? How can you say that after what she did to Harold!? Aren't you two like...friends or something!?"

"Yeah. We talked about it."

"...And...?"

"He's not mad at Helga anymore."

"But...but why not!? That makes no sense!" Rhonda smacked her forehead in disbelief. How could Harold actually forgive her like that!?

"He broke some present of hers at the park. She only got upset and beat him up because whatever it was, it was important to her. He was mad at first, but he talked it out with me and he understands it wasn't all her fault. Plus she signed the card with everyone else."

"Big deal! She wrote her name on a piece of paper and now everything is forgiven!?"

"She didn't just write her name, Rhonda. She apologized. Maybe you should apologize to her for what _you_ did."

Rhonda swallowed hard. The little witch actually apologized to him. Unless Patty was lying, but why would she? Nothing made any sense to her, and she closed her eyes tight with frustration, for she knew what she had to say now. "I already did, Patty... I apologized."

"Did she forgive you?"

"Yes, yes she forgave me! She and her little gang of scoundrels are downstairs cleaning their stupid mess, too! Serves them right for ruining my party." Rhonda squirmed, just knowing this wouldn't be enough to shut her up.

"So you hurt Helga's feelings, and then Sid made a mess getting back at her. Then she got back at you and...made another mess apparently, and then you apologized for what you did wrong, and now she and Arnold are cleaning the mess you all made while you're hiding in your room talking to me."

"So!?"Another pause. Every fraction of a wordless second that passed between them may as well have been nails on a chalkboard.

"You didn't say those things to Helga because of Harold, did you?"

Rhonda didn't understand why, but tears began to well up in her eyes. "...What are you talking about? Of course I did. It's not fair that he had to miss the party. It's not fair that he had to be all alone while everyone else was having fun. Except he wasn't alone was he? He had you the whole time, didn't he!? Meanwhile? Here at _my_ party? Gerald was with Phoebe, Lila was hanging out with Stinky of all people, and in comes the witch herself, Helga G. Pataki, and who's holding her hand? Arnold! After everything she did, she still shows up at _my_ party with a date, and it's the nicest boy in the entire school! It's just not fair!"

It finally clicked. Patty knew exactly what was going on now. "Rhonda... Who was with you at the party?"

"What...?" Rhonda asked in a quiet little voice, one very few people ever heard.

"Who was your date at the party?"

Rhonda rubbed her arm, trying to ignore the warm tears rolling down her face. "I didn't have one..."

"How come?"

"NO ONE ASKED ME, OKAY!? Are you happy now!? God, do you know how embarrassing it is? Helga Pataki can land someone like Arnold and I have no one!? At my own party!? What's so wrong with me? I'm rich! I'm beautiful! I'm smart! Can anyone else at our school say they've been to Aspen? Or Paris? Or London? Who else can get their hands on the new iPhone before anyone else can? Who else has actually met Nancy Spumoni!? There's no reason for it! No reason why _any_ boy wouldn't want to ask me out. Everyone knows how great I am. Everyone!" Rhonda sighed, finally exhausted by her rant. "You have no idea what it's like to be a lonely wallflower at a party like this."

"...You know something, Rhonda? I know exactly how that feels. I was the wallflower at one of your parties once. I was just a big Neanderthal who couldn't afford brand new candy apple red, patent leather Caprini platforms like you could. But I liked me anyway. I still like me. I try to be a good person, and I cared enough to pass Harold's card around instead of angry notes about Helga. If being rich and beautiful and having nice shoes doesn't get the attention you want, maybe you should try something different."

Rhonda was speechless for the second time that night. Several times she opened her mouth to say something, only to swallow her words, knowing they were useless. Knowing that Rhonda wouldn't have much more to say, Patty sighed and decided to let Rhonda go.

"I have to go home now. See you Monday, Rhonda. And think about what I said." Patty hung up the phone, leaving Rhonda in bed, curled up into a ball, still holding the phone to her ear as she stared out into space. Wondering if perhaps she truly was as soulless as Helga said she was.

And if she was, she wondered if everyone knew it.


	11. New Feelings

**Hearts of Gold**

11\. New Feelings

"How much you want to bet I can fit this whole box of Dr. Crunch in my mouth!?" Harold shouted as Sid and Stinky looked on.

"Why do you have a box of Dr. Crunch anyway...?" Sid asked with confusion.

"Because I was hungry!" Harold yelled with a scowl. Which vanished almost as quickly as it had arrived. "What do you think, Stinky? You think I can do it!?"

Stinky didn't answer, not paying attention again.

"Hey! Over here!"

Stinky blinked and looked up from the table. "Huh? Oh, uh... Yeah, I bet you can," he chuckled quietly while not knowing quite what Harold was going on about.

Once again, the young teen managed to make a mess of things as the sugar-loaded breakfast cereal spilled all over his face as well as the cafeteria floor. He still looked a little rough, with the black eye and the bandage on his head, and a few bruises. He was also very glad that his current predicament gave him an excuse to skip Gym for a short time. Over the course of the last week, the boy was almost back to normal.

He was nervous when Helga approached him to apologize in person, but given that she apologized once before in his get well card, he let her talk anyway. Harold couldn't place it but the way she spoke almost reminded him of a certain someone. A certain someone who, unbeknownst to him, watched from a distance wearing a smile full of pride. Nervousness gave way to suspicion, but suspicion was replaced immediately with joy and gratitude when she offered him a pair of wrestling tickets. She wasn't thrilled with the idea of spending the money she saved for Arnold's apology gift on the boy who broke it, and as another freaking apology no less, but Arnold was so happy when she suggested it. Unaware that she did so sarcastically, of course. Still, with Arnold's support, she felt strangely good inside when she made the offer.

Of course, she expected him to take the tickets and run off to invite Patty to the big match, but instead he asked her to go with him. Which made her feel, well...several things. She was happy, on one hand. She did want to see that match anyway. She was surprised, naturally. She also felt weird, however. She wasn't sure about Patty, but she knew if Arnold made plans to go out with another girl, she would not necessarily be so understanding. And what would Arnold think?

It turned out that Arnold was fine with it, even encouraged her to go. Because Arnold knew that as much as she needed his love and support, it did mean something to her that she could have other friends. After everything that happened, he knew that no matter how much grief she gave everyone, she still didn't want to be hated and cast out. And so when fight night came later that week, Helga found herself in the friendly company of the boy she beat up, both of them enjoying all the body slams and the blood and the cheesy dramatic storylines behind all the colorfully clad wrestlers who shared the ring.

The rest of the class was mostly back to normal as well. Sid was extremely jumpy for a few days, but eventually he figured out there was no curse. He did, however, spend less time with Arnold after that. Stinky had gone back to being another of Harold's wingmen, still occasionally zoning out to think of Lila before someone snapped him out of it, usually Sid or Harold but also his teachers on occasion. Lately he'd been imagining the two of them as Dorothy and the Scarecrow, looking for the wicked old witch who took her dog. Eventually they would find Sid, who in this fantasy looked like that robot feller who didn't have no heart, while Harold was a big old cowardly mountain lion. As Lila held his hand, the four of them would make their way down Yellow Street until they reached Emerald City, the capital of Australia.

Or something like that. He kept reminding himself it was time to revisit that picture, but he had a tendency to forget.

What took him out of this fantasy most often was the knowledge that it would always remain that. A fantasy. Ever since he was implicated in the prank against Helga, Lila stopped talking to him very much. He wanted to explain things, but when he gained enough courage to approach her in the cafeteria on Monday, she excused herself and left him all alone. And that was how he felt the whole week, even as he returned to his place as another yes man for Harold and Sid.

While Stinky and the rest of the class had fallen back into old routines and habits, aside from Arnold and Helga whose status as boyfriend and girlfriend was still a little unusual, it was Rhonda who hadn't quite fallen back into place. Over the course of that next week, she was the hub of far less gossip, and she was generally much more quiet and reserved than normal. Occasionally she would have minor outbursts, flashes of the old Rhonda whenever someone nearly scuffed a shoe or came a little too close to spilling something on her latest fashionable attire.

However, while other girls continued to gossip about boys and the upcoming fall break, as well as debating how far Arnold and Helga were getting when no one was around and comparing them to Gerald and Phoebe, Rhonda seemed disinterested at best and on the verge of tears at worst. She'd excused herself from the lunch table several times, sat in the shade during recess, and while the rest of the class was none the wiser, she took advantage of recent girlhood troubles to take bathroom breaks just so she could have some alone time. She went and sat in the stall farthest from the door and let her mind wander wherever she wanted, with no one to judge her but herself.

* * *

"So you seriously had no idea," Helga asked with a raised brow as she reached into the box of pizza from Danica's and took another slice.

"I'm serious. I never noticed until you pointed it out." Arnold shrugged as he took another bite. The two of them stared at the TV, neither of them particularly interested in what they were watching. Naturally there was no cable or satellite in that big old tree house, but with a few DVDs from the library and the only decent player Helga could find in that dump of an electronics store, they were able to make do.

Arnold wanted to watch a superhero movie full of fun and adventure and witty comebacks while Helga was more interested in hordes of violent crazy people in dangerous car chases across a post-apocalyptic wasteland. They compromised on one of those PG-13 action movies where the guy is trying to rescue his family from generic terrorists of some sort and there's a lot of bloodless shooting and fast-paced editing to hide the fact that the aging star isn't actually a martial arts master.

The gentle sounds of a rainy autumn day dulled the gunshots and the yelling and the lame techno soundtrack, but neither of them bothered to adjust the volume. They were content to eat pizza, relax on a couch the gang made with a couple couch cushions and some large throw pillows, and make conversation.

"Come on, Arnold. 'H' is for the head I'd like to punt? 'E' is for every time I see the little runt?"

"That sure is quite the love poem," Arnold said sarcastically.

"Well, 'L' is longing for our firstest kiss. That's something, right? Besides, the point was the letters. Doi! What kind of pea-brained buffoon can't tell that they spell out my name?"

"I didn't get to finish it. You ripped the page out, remember?"

"There were only two letters left, you imbecile! The other poem spelled _your_ name, you never thought that was a clue? Hmmm!?"

Arnold could only shrug as he chuckled quietly. "I guess you're right."

"Criminy, that Football Head of yours sure is dense. Next time we have a flood I'll just use your head as a floatation device." Helga laughed at her own joke before taking a huge bite.

"Um... If my head was that dense it would sink. Not float."

Helga rolled her eyes. "Whahevr. You ah shush a dawrk," she replied with a mouthful of cheese and pepperoni. She washed it down with a Yahoo Soda and then turned to look at him with a more serious expression.

"Can I ask you something?"

Arnold sat up straight and turned to face her. "Sure, Helga. What's up?"

"Do you think I got off easy?"

"What do you me-"

"Do _not_ ask what I mean. You know what I mean, Arnold. I could have been expelled. Sent to juvie. Heck I could have been shipped off to the cuckoo's nest for all I know."

Arnold gave her an inquisitive look and tilted his head. "Could have, or should have?"

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"You asked me if _I thought_ you got off easy. Do _you_ think you got off easy?"

Helga shifted uncomfortable and shrugged. "I mean, I did try to make amends. I apologized _twice_ , and the second time was really pathetic thank you very much, and I got him wrestling tickets, and... I don't know, I still feel bad. I got lucky, you know? So Rhonda said some really nasty things to me and Sid threw a bucket of fake blood on me. I still hurt Harold really bad. Like, it's not even funny, you know?"

Arnold nodded slowly as he listened. "I know, Helga. But it's in the past now. All you can do is keep moving forward."

"But what if he was seriously hurt? What if something happened to him, like I punctured a lung or damaged his brain or-"

"You didn't."

Helga looked into his eyes as hers started to fill with tears. After a pause, she took a deep breath and wiped them away on her arm. "I guess. Just, I tried to tell him, I really did, but if you could... Please just, the next time you guys hang out or whatever, please let him know that I... You know..."

"I will. And by the way, it may sound strange, but feeling guilty like this is a good thing."

Helga grabbed her slice to take another bite, but halted as he spoke. "How do you figure _that_ , doofus?"

"It means you know you did wrong, you learned your lesson, and you want to do better. It's a positive thing. You showed Harold that you cared, you apologized, and you did something nice for him. And he's not mad at you anymore. The others, they'll get over it eventually."

"Whatever you say, Dr. Bliss."

"...Huh?"

Helga rolled her eyes. "Nothing. I just think I'll feel guilty about this for a while." She shrugged and took another gigantic bite out of her slice of pizza. As some extra cheese started to slide off, she quickly tried to catch it, burning her fingers slightly so she didn't accidentally burn her face.

"We all make mistakes, Helga. I attacked someone once too, you know. A stranger, actually."

Helga's eyes widened, her mouth too full for her to say anything more than "Fewioufwy!?" Was she in the Twilight Zone or something? She couldn't imagine Arnold actually laying a finger on anyone, especially if he was the attacker and not just defending himself.

"Yes, _seriously_. Back when I first started learning karate. I was so tense, just walking down the street, I was ready to pounce on anyone who looked at me funny. And I did. The poor guy was just looking for the bus stop, and I...lost it for a second. I didn't really hurt him, but I felt terrible for what I did. His clothes were torn and there were people around. He was really scared and embarrassed. I was so ashamed..."

Helga swallowed slowly as she stared at him. Even though this happened quite some time ago, the way he shifted his gaze away from her as he told this story made it very clear that he was still ashamed even now.

"That was a long time ago, Arnold. And you never attacked anyone else, right?"

Arnold chuckled. "No, I didn't. And even though I still feel bad for what I did, you know what I don't feel bad about?"

"I know you're going to tell me anyway."

"I don't feel bad about never learning from it. Because I _did_ learn from it, Helga. And I think you have too. I wish neither of us had to learn the hard way, but we still learned, right? Some people aren't so lucky. They keep making the same mistakes and never learn from them."

He definitely had a point. She knew someone like that, and she was sure he was thinking of the same person. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. Thanks, Football Head." She sighed and smiled before taking another sip of Yahoo. Her smile turned into a smirk, however, as she gave him the side eye and kept staring at him.

"What?" He asked before taking a drink himself.

"I was just thinking I should have followed you a little longer that day. I could have caught it on tape when you got your bus pass back."

Arnold rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"What? I'm just saying." A cold draft blew in and Helga rubbed her shoulders, pulling her legs up closer to herself. "Criminy, I hate that. What are we doing out here anyway? Are we nuts? It's November now!" She leaned over to turn up the space heater a bit, then sat back where she was. Arnold glanced around the room and got up to fetch a blanket. Helga watched like a deer in the headlights as he sat back down and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Better?"

"I could have got it myself," she said with a little huff. But Arnold was wise to her game now and shot her that half-lidded gaze that always threatened to make her swoon.

"You're welcome," he replied smoothly. Helga swallowed hard enough for him to hear it and looked away from his magic green eyes.

"...Thank you," she said quietly as she pulled the blanket a little tighter around herself, looking back at the television. Too shy to meet his gaze again at the moment. Arnold could tell her mind was probably going a million miles a minute, and he could imagine how fast and how hard her heart was beating, and an idea came to him that only made his smirk grow.

"You know so much about me... Tell me some more that I don't know about you."

"Huh!? I... I already told you about the poem, so-"

"And I told you about a huge mistake I made once, one I still feel bad about. So now it's your turn. Tell me something fun." The way Arnold leaned toward her when he said that made Helga tremble. And he definitely noticed.

"Ummm, w-well...I...Once, I..."

"Yesss?"

Helga scrambled internally to think of something. Anything. Should she tell him about the Cheese Festival? How she kept trying to ruin his date? Twice? No, no, it was too soon for that. What about Christmas? No, definitely not. The time she had to hide behind his couch and she watched him– NOPE NOT THAT ONE.

As she closed her eyes to think of something, anything, the sound of the rain outside grew louder and louder and images of her secret life with Arnold kept flashing by faster and faster. She could practically feel the rain outside pouring down all over her as her heart raced and her head spun, and then the rain stopped, and at once all the sound in the world stopped for four little words that would live in her soul forever: _I like your bow._

No. Not yet. Helga grabbed her pigtails and pulled, saying the very next thing that came to mind: "I WAS THE FAKE CECILE!"

Arnold did a double-take. He could tell it was hard for her to let go of her secrets, but he was expecting something quite different. More poetry perhaps, or some small prank or gesture that she pulled without him knowing. This was something else entirely.

"You... Wait, so..."

"YES, Arnold! I changed her letter, I dolled myself up, and I tricked you into thinking I was Cecile so you would take me out to dinner for Valentine's Day. Happy!?"

Arnold's head spun as he leaned back against the pillows, trying to wrap his mind around this while Helga pulled the blanket over her head and hid her face, balling up completely until she took a shape resembling a potato made of warm blue fleece. He couldn't believe that, technically, they had their first date a while ago. Only she deceived him to make it happen.

"Why didn't you just...ask me?"

Helga groaned with frustration. "Because all I do is bug you. Remember? That's all you think of me. Mr. Optimism, always sees the good in people, just give 'em one more chance he says. Well, it sure took him a long time to give me my _first_ one," she grumbled from under the blanket. "You never would have said yes to _me_ and you know it."

Arnold winced as her words cut right through him. He was so wrapped up in how he felt about her now that he forgot there was in fact a time when all he saw in her was a mean, selfish girl with a bad attitude. How badly would he have hurt her? How badly did he hurt her already, he wondered? He thought back to how he treated her during their egg assignment, how he threw paint all over her, how he often met her attitude not with patience or understanding but by returning her negativity, and it became much clearer to him why she was scared to share her true feelings. There was a time when he might have disappointed her like everyone else, if he hadn't already.

Helga slowly peeked her head out from the blanket to find Arnold slouched forward with his head hanging low, wiping his eyes with his fingers. Seeing him like that, she felt a part of her screaming from the inside to just run away. Run away and hide where she didn't have to see him like that anymore. Only this time another voice spoke up inside, a louder voice. One which showed her another way. The right way.

"Hey..." She opened her blanket and moved closer to him.

"Yes, Helga?" His voice was quiet, and he couldn't look up at her.

"It's cold over there..."

Arnold sighed. "I'm fine..."

"Don't 'I'm fine' me, bucko. There's room under this blanket for both of us." She put her arm around his shoulders, pulling the blanket with her. Arnold glanced up at her with misty eyes and she gave him a gentle smirk. "Better?" He nodded and reached up to take the blanket from her, holding it around himself as she rubbed his back in circles.

"I'm sorry, Helga..."

"Hey, what did we _just_ talk about? No guilt trips, Arnoldo. It's all in the past now."

"But-"

"Stop it. I wasn't easy on you. Besides, that wasn't even true. You gave me my first chance years ago. And I mean, like, the first chance _anyone_ ever gave me."

Arnold gave her a puzzled look. This wasn't the first time she had mentioned something like that, but he still had no idea what she was talking about. Still, he couldn't help noticing that she didn't run away, that she stayed to comfort him. He gave her a small smile and closed his eyes, sniffling a little. "Thanks Helga..."

"By the way, I had a really nice time. On Valentine's Day, that year."

"You did? But...I kept running out every few minutes to-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Wasn't thrilled with that, although it was kind of nice to have a moment here and there to recharge. If you didn't keep leaving like that, I might have gone crazy. More than usual."

Arnold smiled as he looked up at her. "I had a nice time too. I just... I'm sorry for what I said, and if I'd gotten to know the real Helga I would have definitely said yes. But I understand why you had to keep your secret, and... I'm sorry about that. I really am. I just want you to know that you never have to hide from me again, okay?"

Helga beamed at first, but dialed it down to a less crazy smile. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind... Now no more tears, you got that?"

He let out a gentle sigh and nodded. "I got it. Thank you, Helga." Despite feeling somewhat relieved, Arnold's smile faded and he kept his head low and closed his eyes once more, still reeling from the revelation of Helga's deceit and the reason why she felt it so necessary in the first place.

She tensed up as she felt another internal war going on in her heart, but once again love conquered fear. She closed her other hand into a fist to keep herself from shaking and then leaned over to touch his cheek and place a gentle kiss his forehead. In her mind she imagined herself screaming and running around the room in mad disbelief that she did what she just did. She hoped he would like that. That's what couples do, right? They kiss foreheads and cheeks and lips and...wherever, so he would surely like that, right?

Right she was, for she saw his smile grow in the aftermath. She let out a sigh of relief and he opened his eye to look into hers. "That was nice. Were you nervous?"

She gave a timid chuckle as her face turned red. "Shut up... Okay, a little..."

"It's alright, it takes guts to overcome nerves like that."

"Oh, our first kiss drove me insane on the inside." Helga thought back to that day, how full of passion she was, how full of confusion he was. She almost felt that same passion inside her now, buried deep down, clawing to get out. She shuffled her feet, still holding her hand in a fist as strange, new feelings began to build the longer she stared at him.

"Me too, but there was a lot going on. The guards were still chasing us, I just found out that you were Deep Voice, and-"

"Waaait... That was _not_ our first kiss, Bucko."

Arnold blinked and thought for a moment."It wasn't? Hm. Actually, now that you mention it..." Before he could finish that thought, Helga gave him a good shove from the side, knocking him over onto his back. "Hey! What are you doing!?"

She crawled over, looming over him like a wild animal who had just caught her prey, and she looked into his eyes with a gaze he almost didn't recognize. Her eyelids were low, but he saw fire behind them, and she had a wide, wicked smirk. She leaned in closer as his heart felt like it was ready to burst out of his chest, and she whispered to him.

"I'll _make_ you remember, my love."

She scooped up his head to pull him closer and pressed her other hand on his cheek, planting her lips firmly on his. He stared at her as he instantly remembered the school's production of _Romeo & Juliet_. As she held their kiss, his eyes widened and he felt a rush of strange new feelings of his own. Feelings which only increased as he heard her begin to moan softly. Feelings he could no longer ignore as he reached up to put his arm around her waist and kiss her deeply in return.

Helga felt him pull her down closer, and immediately two feelings hit her like a truck at the same time. Firstly, whatever was going on, whatever he was feeling, and whatever he was making her feel, she knew that she was liking it. Really, really liking it. Secondly, she was absolutely terrified. Why _did_ she like it? What the heck was happening!?

Her eyes burst open and she practically jumped away from him, breathing heavily as she crawled away backwards to the other side of the makeshift tree house couch. Arnold was trying to catch his breath too, and as he sat up, their eyes locked and they just stared at each other with all those strange feelings passing between them without a single word being spoken. All their fear, their confusion and embarrassment, and all those new feelings that they could not name yet could not help but enjoy either.

"Wow..." Arnold spoke quietly, breaking the ice with a nervous chuckle.

"I'll say... We, uh...sure got carried away there, huh?"

"We did, we did..." Arnold nodded in agreement as they both slowly sat back down on their respective spots on the couch. "Lots of, uh... Whole lot of crazy feelings tonight, huh?"

"Oh, for sure. We're just...a little crazy, that's all... Maybe it's the, um..." Helga looked around the room for something, anything, any kind of scapegoat. She grabbed an empty Yahoo bottle and held it up. "The caffeine!"

They both knew it was obviously not caffeine, but Arnold didn't fight her on it. "Yeah, that must be it. And the sugar!"

"Ohhh, the sugar! Yup, caffeine and sugar, that'll...really make us go wacko, right?"

"Absolutely! Absolutely..."

"First I'm sad, then you're sad,"

"And we make each other feel better,"

"And just all this energy, you know?"

"Totally, yeah, this energy!"

"I mean, _Yahoo!_ Am I right?"

Arnold laughed a little too loud. "Oh yeah, big time!"

She laughed too, and then they were both laughing, and then they simmered down. As they sat there in a new silence, their faces turned red and they both avoided eye contact. Whatever that was, neither of them felt very much like talking about it. At the same time, of course, it was all they could think about. They both knew something major had just occurred, that there were major feelings behind that kiss, and their minds were dominated by questions about how to even describe them. Was that something kids their age even did?

Slowly they turned to look at each other as something dawned on them. Whatever they felt, they felt in unison. They felt it together. And whatever they were feeling now, they knew they could deal with it together too. Maybe they weren't ready at the moment, but they would be when they were older.

"Hey, Arnold..." Helga whispered.

"Yes, Helga...?"

"You remember now, right?"

Arnold gave her a nod and a light chuckle. "Yeah, I do. And I won't forget that last one either."

Helga smirked. "Better not."

They inched a bit closer to each other as their fear faded away, and only then did they look back at the TV to notice they were back to the main menu, which kept playing that crappy techno soundtrack as brief action-filled clips kept playing over and over behind the title and the buttons.

Helga checked the time on her phone and knew it was almost time for her to go home. Even though she felt more at home with Arnold in that tree house. She gave a quiet yawn and stretched her arms out.

"Well, I guess I better-"

"Want to watch another one?"

Helga stopped cold and looked into his eyes. Looked at his hopeful smile. Looked at the way he was holding his hand over his heart. Slowly she reached up to mimic him, holding her own hand over her own heart, and she sighed as she gave him a smile in return.

"Alright, one more. Just as long as you stop interrupting me, Arnoldo. Oh, and there better be blood in this one."

"YES- I, uh, I mean..." Arnold coughed, "Whatever you say, Helga."

She shook her head as she laid back against the pillows, crossing her arms while Arnold looked through the DVDs they had and switched that last one for something a bit more violent. He didn't care anyway. He just wanted to be with her. As he sat back down beside her, they both gathered the blanket around themselves once more and they each put an arm around each other.

Slowly Helga laid her head against his shoulder, and he gently laid his head against hers, and in their hearts they knew that as long as they were together, they could handle anything.

* * *

The second week of November began with a fairly typical Monday. Harold was shoving a candy bar in his face. Sid was egging him on. Curly was drawing a disturbingly life-like sketch of Rhonda, who just wanted the day to be over with. Eugene somehow managed to lock his desk over his wrist, and Sheena was trying to help him out of it. Joey and Robert and Peapod Kid were doing something in the background, not really interesting enough to get attention. Phoebe was quizzing Gerald, who found a way to answer flashcard questions and flirt at the same time. Stinky stared longingly at Lila, who either ignored him or didn't notice him. Arnold made sure he was ready for class to begin, and Helga made sure to hide a poetry notebook against her school notebook in case she got bored. Which she knew she would.

Still, the two lovebirds exchanged knowing glances and smirked, their minds still going back to the day they had in Mighty Pete's tree house over the weekend.

Of course, the morning chaos never lasted. Mr. Frank walked in with a couple binders in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other. "Quiet, quiet everybody. Settle down. Curly, you heard me back there. Harold, please put that way."

As they always did, the classroom fell into order at the command of their tired, bored and boring 6th grade teacher. He took a long sip from his morning coffee before addressing the class in that dull, boring tone of his.

"Today, we're going to be introducing you to a whole new unit. Starting tomorrow, the class will be broken into two groups for the rest of the week. The boys will remain in here with me, and the girls will be next door with the school nurse. You will need to get your parents to sign a permission slip allowing you to learn the material, which will be passed around shortly along with a syllabus. If you can't get their permission, we'll...figure something out. After this week, the class won't be separated and you can all come back here together. Now then, let's get started." At this, the kids began to mutter quietly amongst themselves, only to be hushed into silence as Mr. Frank stepped up to the chalk board and wrote two words that filled the students with curiosity and dread:

Health Class.


	12. Growing Up

**Hearts of Gold**

12\. Growing Up

"Growth and development? What the heck is that? This silly bus is confusing." Stinky scratched his head as he looked over the sheet that Mr. Frank handed out just before lunch, as several other kids were now doing over recess. He could figure out what some of it meant. "Nutrition" meant food. "Alcohol, tobacco, and drugs" was obvious. "Injury preparedness and safety" he figured would come in handy for Eugene. "Growth and development" had him totally stumped.

"It's a _syllabus_ , Stinky. And 'growth and development' implies that we'll be learning about the human body, particularly as it undergoes the stages of puberty and the ways in which male bodies and female bodies are different." Phoebe said all of this like it wasn't totally weird or gross or anything.

"That's disgusting! I'm not doing it!" Harold yelled, startling Eugene and causing him to lose his balance and fall off the monkey bars. He was okay.

"Probably never will, either," Helga snickered.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" He shouted as he stood up from the picnic table and got in front of her. Arnold rolled his eyes and looked over at Gerald. Of course they'd wind up arguing like usual again. At least now they were less likely to come to blows over it.

"It means you're _fifteen_ and you're still hanging out with a bunch of eleven-year-olds learning about sex and puberty for the first time. Don't you have better things to be doing?"

Harold scowled at her, but he swallowed his words and sat back down with a huff. This wasn't the first time someone had pointed out how behind he was, and he did not like it. But he knew it was true.

"Helga..." Arnold touched her shoulder, and she sighed and rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms.

"Fiiine... Sorry, Harold. I'm just saying, you should _already_ know about some of this stuff. Heck, I probably already know more about sex than you do."

The others gasped as they all turned to look at the blonde girl with the pigtails and the pink bow. Arnold was particularly shocked, though he was also very curious to know just how much she'd already learned. Beneath it all, part of him even felt a little thrilled by it. He stared at her with a newfound sense of fascination that did not go unnoticed by her.

Arnold cleared his throat before speaking up. "So, wait... How do you already... You know...?"

Helga shrugged and gave him a little smirk. "TV and movies show a lot these days. And you won't _believe_ what's on the internet. Not that I go looking or anything, but spend enough time online and you're bound to run into some pretty crazy stuff. What, don't tell me you've never seen _anything_."

Arnold knew she had a good point. It was strange just how _adult_ things were in the media they were exposed to. He could admit to feeling the occasional odd sensation when certain ads showed up on TV or videos online, and while he usually tried to skip the parts in movies he felt he shouldn't watch, he was increasingly curious about them.

"I mean, I guess I've seen a little bit. Don't you think it's weird, though?"

Helga tossed her head back and laughed. "That's one way to put it, Football Head."

Though she tried to act like she was cool about it, Helga did agree with him on one thing: it was weird. Only she had a feeling that she had a different definition of 'weird' than him. Not only did she consume much more violent material, but it also often came with much heavier make out scenes. She used to skip them just because they bored her, but recently she'd started to become much more interested in them, skipping them less and less. She only avoided them now if they made her _too_ excited, which scared and confused her. Not that she was about to admit any of that to anyone in the schoolyard. That would be much too awkward for her to tolerate.

"Why they gotta teach us this stuff anyway?" Stinky asked as he stuffed the syllabus back in his bag.

"Well, given that our own bodies have begun to undergo such changes, it's safe to assume that they want to prepare us for adulthood. They want us to understand where babies come from, how to avoid things like unplanned pregnancies and diseases, and to teach us how to be responsible with our relationships." Phoebe still did not seem to find any of this as weird as it actually was.

"Relationships...?" The tall boy asked with a tilt of his head.

"Yeah, you know, boyfriends and girlfriends?" Gerald explained incredulously. As Stinky nodded slowly and looked down at the ground, Gerald picked up on what he was thinking. "You'll get there one day, buddy. You got a long time to worry about that."

"What about you and Phoebe?" Stinky asked as he looked up at him. "Heck, you two went to the Cheese Festival two years in a row." This caught Gerald and Phoebe by surprise. Gerald knew they were young even when they started flirting and making eyes at each other, but had they really rushed things? Before that train of thought could travel too far, Harold pumped the breaks by reminding him that he and Phoebe weren't alone in their young love.

"Yeah! And what about _Awwwnold and_ _Heeelgaaa_?"

"Put a sock in it, Pink Boy," Helga snarled.

"Since when do you like Arnold anyway? I thought you hated him worst of all!" Harold barked right back.

Helga froze at that. She had hoped to avoid this conversation. Sure, it wasn't blowing up in her face quite as big as she'd always feared, but still, the time had come for someone to confront her about her long kept secret. Could she summon the strength to answer him honestly? To tell him that she's always loved the boy, ever since the first day of preschool? Could she even admit the depth of her feelings? After all, she had to admit it was probably unusual for someone her age to even feel the kind of love she felt. With that realization, an idea reached up from the shadows of her soul, threatening to wrap around her heart: did Arnold even truly love her the way she loved him?

Arnold opened his mouth to say something, but someone else came to her defense first. "Well, now she don't hate him. 'Sides, didn't you used to hate Big Patty?" Stinky remarked with a raised eyebrow.

As Harold went off in his usual Harold way, Helga and Arnold both looked at Stinky, surprised that he would turn the tables like that. Helga wondered just what his deal was, but when he gave the two of them a reassuring look, she remembered their conversation at the party and gave him a little smile in return. She silently mouthed to him, "Thank you." She took a mental note to try and talk to Lila for him some time.

Arnold took advantage of the out Stinky just gave them to change the subject. "So, we're really going to find out where babies come from?" he asked Phoebe, who nodded in response.

"Jamie O told me about the video he had to watch when he learned that stuff," Gerald said with a little shiver. "Said it was horrifying, like some kind of monster movie or something. Most disgusting thing he ever saw."

"Awww geeeez..." Stinky sighed.

"Monster movie, huh? So there's blood and gore and all that cool stuff?" Helga was just a little too excited to ask about that.

"You know it. Half the kids in his class threw up, and the other half? Passed out cold."

Helga smirked. "Cool."

"They wouldn't show us that stuff now, would they?" Everyone looked to see Eugene walking over with Sheena and Curly in tow. "We're not even in middle school yet. Also, I hate throwing up almost as much as I hate passing out," the redhead continued with a loud gulp.

"It's the miracle of life, Eugene! It can't be too bad." Sheena suggested with the kind of starry-eyed hippie innocence that only she could have.

Arnold glanced over at Sheena, her words catching his interest. "Miracle...?"

"That's right!" the cheery girl replied. Arnold's thoughts traveled back a year, to when he first discovered his father's journal. He remembered the story of how he was born in San Lorenzo, and considered the idea that Sheena's words could be truer than even she realized. Helga noticed the weird look on his face as he sat there pondering, but before she could say anything else, the bell went off and let them know it was time to go back inside for the rest of their classes.

As the gang all got up to head inside, their heads still swirling after their introduction to the upcoming curriculum, Stinky stood by the doors and waited to catch Lila on her way in. However, it was then that he couldn't help noticing that someone else was missing. He looked behind him, then out to the schoolyard, thinking maybe he was mistaken. The more he thought about it, however, the more he recalled never seeing her in the cafeteria either. When Lila did walk up to him and reminded him of why he stayed back in the first place, she actually managed to surprise him.

"Hello, Stinky. Is something the matter?" she asked as she tried to follow his gaze. He quickly turned to look at her and swallowed hard, rubbing his arm nervously.

"Oh, I'm alright I suppose. I just couldn't help noticing something."

"What's that?"

"Where's Rhonda?"

* * *

Rhonda wasn't sure whether or not to pull her feet up or leave them down as a few other girls rushed in to use the bathroom before heading to class. She stayed quiet as they discussed the controversial new class, all the things they'd be learning. It all sounded revolting to her, but every impulse she felt to leave her stall and join in on the conversation was met with crippling doubt. And she hated it.

At first she hated Helga for doing this to her. Then she hated Patty. Then, over the course of the last week, those feelings faded away like the greenness of leaves. Soon she was left all alone even in her thoughts, too busy trying to rediscover her own self worth to take part in the latest gossip or share her opinion of just who the cutest boy in their school was.

Soon after, she was alone again, and let out a little sigh as she slowly opened the stall door and walked over to the mirror, looking herself in the eye. How long had she been this way? Was she always so selfish? So superficial? Was there more to her than her wealth, her clothes, or her makeup? Was there a person underneath it all? She thought back to how she acted when those things were taken away from her, how she broke down completely. She even realized that she was only able to pick herself up again by finding another way to maintain her sense of superiority, fooling herself with a shower curtain dress and a decorative paper bag for her lunch into believing that she had attained some other kind of wealth. Some other material reason to be the center of attention.

She closed her eyes tight and let out a little whimper, crying over the sink. Nothing about her was real, and now that she saw the void with her own eyes, she had no idea how to fill it.

"Rhonda?"

She quickly turned to look toward the door, seeing Lila standing there. She didn't even hear her walk in, but then Lila was good at staying quiet when she needed to. Realizing she was caught, Rhonda turned her back away and stood upright, crossing her arms.

"Hello, Lila. I was just having a _private_ moment, if you don't mind."

"Oh... I'm ever so sorry, Rhonda. Do you not feel well? If you need someone to accompany you to the nurse's office, I wouldn't mind."

Rhonda rolled her eyes and sighed. The girl was simply too sweet. She could ignore the others, but Lila was too darn nice for her to shoo away. "It's fine. I'm fine. Totally fine." She turned around to face the redhead now that she was sure she had calmed herself.

Lila gave her a look of worry and stepped closer, reaching out to touch her arm. "Are you alright, Rhonda? Forgive me, but it seems like you've been crying..."

"So what if I was? It's not any- ...I...I'm sorry. Just..." Rhonda's eyes darted around the room as her mind ran in a million directions at once, trying to find something, anything to latch onto so she could change the subject. "I, um...I...I like your boots!"

Lila blinked and looked down at her brown cowboy boots. "Gosh, Rhonda, thank you ever so much!" Rhonda glanced down at the boots herself just to see if they were indeed worth her approval. They were vintage, and not in a trendy way but in a slightly dated way. They were also slightly worn. The old Rhonda might have retracted her compliment, or at least added a back-handed qualifier, but this Rhonda couldn't go that far.

"So... What's so special about them...?"

"Oh, they're very special, Rhonda. They were my mother's. She used to wear them all the time when she was my age. My grandma mailed them to my daddy and I, along with some of her other belongings." There was a sadness in her voice, but she smiled all the same as she reminisced about the time she did get to spend with her dear mother. "When I wear these boots, they remind me of her. I imagine where she walked in them. Sometimes I wonder if she danced in them too... I guess it's like part of her is still with me."

Rhonda stared at the redheaded girl. They weren't in style. They weren't new. They weren't even mint condition. And yet, those boots meant more to her than anything in Rhonda's expensive designer wardrobe ever could. They were truly priceless.

A thought crossed Rhonda's mind that she had never considered before: when was the last time her own parents gave her something so meaningful?

"Um... Forgive me, Rhonda, but if I stay here much longer, I'll be late for class..."

Rhonda snapped out of it and nodded. "Right! Let's, um... Let's go. And thank you."

As they walked out of the bathroom and down the hall, Lila gave her a confused look. "Why, you're ever so welcome, Rhonda, but I'm afraid I don't know why...?"

"For coming to find me. And for telling me that story."

"Oh. Well, to be ever so honest, it was Stinky who noticed you weren't at lunch or recess."

Rhonda laughed. "Stinky, huh? Now that is strange."

"How so...?"

"Because he's clearly _obsessed_ with you. You haven't noticed how he looks at you all the time?"

Lila gasped. Stinky? Obsessed with her? She knew that a lot of boys tried to get her attention, but Stinky mostly just kept to himself. He was certainly polite, if a bit nervous sometimes, but he never acted quite like the others. "I...I'm afraid I haven't, Rhonda..."

"Well, I know that look anywhere," she said with a little wink. "The boy _totally_ has a crush on you."

Lila's face turned bright red. "Oh, my..." She held a hand over her mouth for a moment, looking away to think. It wasn't long before she remembered the last meaningful interaction with him, and how that night ended. "Forgive me, Rhonda, but I have to ask if this is some kind of practical joke. He does seem nice, but he did help you and Sid at the party, and that was ever so cruel..."

That stung. Rhonda winced and sighed. "Yeah, I know. I don't need to be reminded. I feel bad enough as it is... And by the way, Stinky had nothing to do with that. Poor sap didn't even know what he was doing."

"But why?"

"He was probably too busy looking at you. That's what boys do."

As they walked into class, Lila couldn't help but glance in his direction before taking her seat, waiting until she knew for sure that he wasn't watching her the way Rhonda said he did. She tried to pay attention during the lesson, but in the back of her mind, all she could do was wonder.

How _did_ he look at her...?

* * *

"Growth and development? What the heck is that?"

Helga let out a long sigh and rubbed the bridge of her nose with her fingers. "Puberty, Bob. They're going to start teaching us about puberty. You know, growing up? Becoming an adult? You should try that some time."

"Watch your mouth, little lady." Bob kept scanning the form like he was trying to read some very fine print, only there wasn't any. "Does it cost anything?"

"Why no, father, it does not cost anything," she replied in a mockingly sweet voice. "Thank you for caring about my education."

"Whatever. You better start caring about cleaning your room, or I'll start throwing all that junk of yours right in the trash." Bob signed the paper and held it out in front of Helga's face. She snatched it away with a growl.

"Sure you will, Bob." Helga walked out of his office and stopped by the break room to grab a snack. To her surprise, Miriam wasn't just sitting at the table, she was sitting upright and looking through the help wanted ads.

"Hey, Helga! How was school today, honey?"

"Same as usual, Miriam. How was work today?" Helga asked in an icy tone as she looked through the pantry. It was strange how full a pantry could get while still somehow containing nothing at all that was worth eating. No tortilla chips, no pretzels, not even so much as a bag of that cheap flavorless popcorn that only Bob would occasionally nibble on. She settled on half a sleeve of stale saltine crackers and slammed the pantry door shut.

"It's funny you should joke about that, Helga. Your sister and I are looking into jobs so we can have a little extra spending money for the holidays. Isn't that great?" Miriam actually sounded a little hopeful. It was gross.

"I don't care, Miriam. Just don't talk to Bob about it until later, okay? I have an important phone call to make and I'd rather not hear him screaming and chasing you all the way to the blender again."

Miriam turned her head away and winced at her daughter's brutal remark. But she had yet to indulge in her smoothies that day. "Don't worry about your father, I can handle him," Miriam said much to Helga's sardonic amusement. "Could you just put off your phone call for a minute, dear? I need you to make sure your sister's alright."

Helga smacked her forehead. She knew it. She just knew that Olga's cheeriness couldn't last. "Fine. But I'm not her freaking therapist, so don't expect me to work any miracles."

As she left the break room and crossed the Emporium toward her sister's room, she started to wonder just what it was that had Olga depressed this time. Did she break a nail? Was she brushing her perfect, shimmering blonde hair only to discover a split end? Did she miss a spot while cleaning the dishes? Or did someone just swipe left? The closer she got to her sister's room, the more Helga noticed something very strange: there wasn't any opera music playing. No opera, no Ronnie Matthews, no old boy bands with their soothing ballads and over-produced background noise. What gives?

Helga knocked on her door and noticed it wasn't even fully closed. Walking inside the bedroom that was much bigger than her own, because of course it was, she saw Olga lying there on her bed in her pajamas. With no makeup on. Bags under her eyes, but no dark streaks of mascara dragged down her face by her tears. She wasn't heaving or sobbing or anything like that. She lay there perfectly still as she stared into her phone screen.

Who was this person? Was this really Olga? Helga had seen her miserable before, but this was something much, much worse than she was used to seeing.

"Hey. Olga. What gives?" Helga walked in and sat on the edge of the bed. Olga moved her feet out of the way to make room for her, but otherwise didn't acknowledge her.

"Nothing, Helga. I'm fine."

"Don't give me that bull, I can tell when you're not fine. This? This is _beyond_ not fine. So spill it. Is it that beefcake at the photo center? I can kill him if you want me to. I already thought of about six different ways I could do it."

"That's alright, Helga. We're not friends anymore anyway."

"What did he do?"

Olga glanced at her little sister. Looked at the bow in her hair, the pigtails, the pink dress. Her beautiful baby sister, still so innocent. She knew it was too soon to tell Helga about guys like him. Guys who only want one thing. Guys who send disgusting messages and photos over the phone, as if they'd impress her.

"Some guys are just selfish jerks, that's all," Olga said softly as she reached over to touch her hand. "Don't worry about me, Baby Sister. I'm over him."

"Good. I still might kill him though," Helga snickered. "So if it's not that creep, what gives? Because this? This is just...pathetic. Even for you."

Olga turned off her phone and shifted around until she sat upright. "I had a lot of money left over when I was finally done with all my schooling, you know. I dipped into it here and there, I traveled, but I just couldn't seem to use it for what it was for. I was supposed to settle down and get my own place, start my own career. I guess I just...got distracted."

"You think?"

"Then things started to get bad with Mommy and Daddy, and what else could I do? I had to help you guys, and...now I can't anymore. The money's almost gone."

Helga did a double take. She thought about the trips Olga had taken, the fancy clothes, the car, everything she was able to spend it on. If Olga could throw her money away, just how much of it did she have in the first place? And how the heck was the money almost gone now? Helga wanted to rip into someone, but she didn't know where to start. Her sister? Her mother? Her father? Before she could start a rant of truly epic proportions about how irresponsible her family was, Olga interrupted her with a smile that could have melted a hard far colder than hers.

"I'm just glad I was able to help you with Arnold." Olga sure knew how to twist the knife.

Helga took a deep breath to try and repair herself after that knockout blow. "Olga, if I knew money was tight for you, I wouldn't have even asked for your help. Why didn't you tell me? You think I'm not used to being told no? 'We can't afford it' may as well be our Wi-Fi password. Oh wait! We don't _have_ a Wi-Fi password because we _steal_ ours from the building next door!"

"Helga, I don't mind helping if I can. I just-"

"Help? Help who!? You're supposed to be out there showing off how amazing you are and getting as far away from this clown show as you possibly can! You could have gotten away from this place and finally made something of yourself! You used to be all about _you_ , you never really _cared_ about me, why start now!? Why do you have to go spending your money on _me_ and making me feel-"

"Don't say that!" Olga yelled as fresh tears began to flow, only she didn't collapse into her pillow. She sat up straight and locked eyes with Helga, who had just been stunned into silence. "I'm sick of you saying I never cared about you! It's easy for you to say I'm so perfect, I'm so good at piano, and dancing, and singing, and I'm a teacher and I know art and history and I can speak so many other languages, but do you have any idea how long it took me to even learn those things? How hard I had to try day in and day out!?"

"Olga, _none_ of that matters to me! I didn't _need_ you to be good at those things, I needed a big sister!"

"Why do you think I was trying so hard to make a better life for myself!?"

"So you could rub it in my face and-"

"I wanted to take you with me!"

Helga stared. Her mind went blank. She opened her mouth to say something, but the words wouldn't come. She was all out of words to say.

"I love Mommy and Daddy very much, but I know how they can be, and I was so scared that one day Daddy's business would go under. You don't remember how it was when you were a baby, Helga. You don't know what times were like when _I was your age_. You think your childhood's been lame so far? I didn't _have_ one. I had to grow up so fast, there was never any time for it. But you know something? I _wanted_ to grow up fast, because I wanted to take care of _you_ one day. And now...I...I can't..." As Olga started to hyperventilate, Helga knew right away what was coming next.

So she beat her to it.

Helga leaned over and embraced her big sister tightly, letting her sob against her shoulder. Olga hugged her back, and as tight as her grip was, Helga didn't care.

"It'll be okay," Helga whispered, remembering how Arnold comforted her not too long ago. "Just breathe slow, okay? Take a deep breath. Come on, you can do it."

Olga nodded as Helga rubbed her back up and down. She tried to steady her breathing by inhaling deeply and releasing her breath as slowly as she could, and as she began to relax, her grip around Helga began to relax as well. Soon Olga pulled away and grabbed some tissues off her end table to dab at her eyes and blow her nose.

"I'm sorry, okay? I...honestly didn't know..." Helga said quietly.

"It's alright," Olga whimpered. "I just don't want you to hate me..."

Helga closed her eyes tightly as she heard her own words echo from her sister's mouth. Olga really, really knew how to twist that darn knife. "I...I don't hate you, Olga. Sometimes it just felt like you forgot about me, or didn't really think about my feelings. I had to walk to preschool _alone_ because Mom and Dad were too busy doting on _you_."

Olga swallowed hard and nodded. "I'm so sorry, Helga..."

"I used to think that bugged me because, like... I didn't like that you took all Mom and Dad's attention away from me. Except, that...actually wasn't so bad, the way their attention usually went in my case. What really bugged me was when _they_ took _you_ away. I guess I shouldn't have always blamed you for that..."

"No... No, it's okay to blame me for some of that. I just want you to know that I do see you, and I do love you, and I really... I really wanted to give you a better life than this. But it turns out I can't even take care of my own life very well, can I?" Olga let out a sigh and rubbed her temples with frustration, shaking her head as she wondered how she could possibly make all this up to her.

"You got all that education, you mean to tell me you can't find a job around here?" Helga asked curiously. "Criminy, you don't have to be the freaking Mayor you know. Screw that perfection crap, just find something that makes you happy."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. It's not fair for them to treat you like some kind of trophy they can use as a piggy bank, and it's not fair for you to do that to _yourself_ either. You are still young, you know. I mean Criminy, you're acting like your life is already _over_. Stop whining already and find something you actually _enjoy_ doing. What did you want to do when you were my age?"

Olga tapped her finger against her chin in thought. She had so many false starts and had trained for so many different things, it took her a moment to remember what she was really drawn to before her studies took such a turn. "Well, I think... I wanted to go to beauty school."

Figures, Helga thought. "Okaaay...so, did you?"

"Eventually, yeah. But I was too busy with the rest of my studies to really do anything with it."

"With what? Wait... how far did you go with that?"

"...Pretty much all the way. I'm a fully licensed cosmetologist."

Helga smacked her forehead. Of course she was. "Is there anything else you _haven't_ told me about? Have the folks at NASA been calling you for some secret moon mission or something?"

Olga shrugged and couldn't help but smile at the compliment. "I just let it go to voicemail." Neither of them could help but laugh at that. "You know, Helga, you would have found that out sooner if you had just let me do your hair some time, but you never let me."

Helga rolled her eyes. "Maybe...someday I will," she grumbled. "Right now you need to worry about getting a job. Tomorrow you need to go to a few beauty salons, talk to the management, and see if you can get yourself set up. After that, no more of this crazy depression crap. Deal?"

"Deal." Olga squirmed a bit where she sat, however. "Mom and Dad will be disappointed..."

"Screw 'em. I'll be proud of you whether you come back with the job or not."

"You really mean that, Baby Sister...?" Olga practically beamed at Helga's words.

"I really mean it, Big Sister. And if you ever tell anyone I said that, I will lock you in a sleeping bag full of rocks and drop you in the freaking river."

Olga rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I won't. And thank you. For everything."

"Don't mention it." Helga stood up from the bed and started toward the door before a thought crossed her mind and stopped her in her tracks. She turned back to Olga then, who gave her a curious look and waited to hear just what else Helga had to say.

"Before I go, um... Arnold kind of invited me to his house for dinner with his family."

"Really? That's so nice!"

"Yeah..." Helga took a few steps toward her and rubbed the back of her neck. "Sooo...here's the thing... Arnold's parents want to meet _my_ parents too, and... I thought I could get out of bringing them, but chances are I can't. Either way..." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before continuing, "I want you to come. Please. If we go without them, then at least his parents get to meet someone in my family. If they come with us, then...then at least I have you there, in case..."

Olga gave her a warm smile and nodded. "I understand, Helga. I would be delighted."

"Really?"

"Of course. Arnold's a sweet boy, and I can tell he really cares about you."

Helga's face turned red as she looked down at the floor and shuffled her feet. "Yeah, he does... A lot, actually." Not enjoying the current awkwardness, and definitely not wanting to stick around long enough for Olga to ask about school so that whole can of worms could be opened up, Helga cleared her through and went back to the door. "Anyway, I better hurry up and go call him, let him know you'll be coming."

"Okay. Tell him I said hi!" she said cheerfully, even giving Helga a little wave. She did know Arnold couldn't see her wave like that, right? Helga rolled her eyes and finally got the heck out of there.

As she made her way back to her room, she thought about everything Olga had just told her. Would she have had a better life, living with her sister? What if Olga took her away from Hillwood? Away from Arnold? She knew she couldn't have that. She'd die without her beloved, her angel, her one true love in all the world.

Her thoughts drifted to another question: what _was_ her family like when she was a baby? Olga would have been about her age, but what else was different? The way Olga talked about it had her curious. She always imagined that her parents got worse as she got older, but could she have had it backwards? Could their lives have been worse _before_ Helga could remember any of it?

What kind of life was she born into?


	13. Trust

**Hearts of Gold**

13\. Trust

"Would you excuse us, Arnold? Your father and I need to talk about this first."

Arnold hadn't expected that. Until now, his parents had been very supportive of his school activities, and they encouraged him to learn as much as he could. Yet for some reason his mom went a little pale when he handed them the health class syllabus and accompanying permission slip for them to sign, and now she wanted to talk with his dad in private. And his dad gave her a confused glare that really surprised him. He expected an awkward conversation about this at some point, but he did not expect any sort of tension.

"Um...okay. I'll be upstairs, I guess."

Arnold grabbed his bag and left his parents alone at the kitchen table, the unsigned form sitting between them. Stella crossed her arms, not at all pleased with Miles's concerned expression.

"Why are you giving me that look? Do _not_ give me that look, buster."

"I just thought we talked about this already."

"What do you mean? He _just_ brought this home today. How have we already talked about this, Miles?"

"We talked about it on Halloween, remember?"

Stella scoffed and shook her head. "Uhhh, no we did not. We talked about whether or not to invite Helga's parents over for dinner, and I _tried_ to talk to you about how fast our boy is growing up, and then _you_ changed the subject to how I was a disgusting monster girl when I was his age."

Miles winced at that. "I was just kidding, you thought it was funny too..."

"So what if I did? You're still a jerk. I do not have-" Stella's eyes widened and she smacked him in the arm.

"Hey! What was that for!?"

"You just did it again! You changed the subject! Do you just want to _avoid_ this, Miles? Is that it? Because we're going to have to face this at some point." Stella crossed her arms and tilted her head, pleased with herself that she caught him this time.

"I'm not avoiding anything," he grumbled as he rubbed his arm. "And if anyone's avoiding anything, it's you."

"Me!?"

"Our son is not an infant, Stella. He has to grow up at some point. Telling him he can't go to a sixth grade health class isn't going to stop him from being interested in girls and spending time with Helga." He reached over to touch her arm, gently stroking her warm, smooth skin with his thumb. "It's okay to be scared about this. It scares me too. But we _need_ to trust Arnold at some point."

Stella closed her eyes. "I do trust him, honey. I just... I want him to know that he doesn't _need_ to grow up so fast. Isn't it a little early to learn about this stuff? What if _he_ isn't ready, Miles? What if he thinks we expect too much from him? I had to grow up a lot faster than I should have, and I don't want that for him. He should enjoy his childhood while it lasts."

"I know, baby. I know. But he should know that we trust him. And that we trust his school, too." He smiled a little as he continued to rub her arm. "After all, look how great he is now. They must be doing something right over there. And how much do you think they're going to expose him to anyway? It's sixth grade."

Stella felt the tension start to leave her body, and she placed her hand over his and gave him a little smile of her own. "I guess you're right." She glanced at the permission slip and then back at Miles. "We'll trust him. But we're also going to keep an eye on him. Ask him if he has any questions, or needs our help with anything."

Miles nodded in agreement. "Absolutely." He got out of his chair and stepped over to her, leaning down to press his hand against her cheek and place a tender kiss on her lips. She held his hand against her face and looked up at him.

"Your hands are cold, by the way."

"Sorry," Miles chuckled.

"I bet I can warm them up for you," she said with a wink.

"Does that mean _I_ get to take health class too?"

Stella smirked and snickered at that. "Later," she sighed. "But you better not misbehave, or I'll have no choice but to give you detention."

"Who's got detention!?" asked a very confused Phil, who had just walked in. Miles jumped, spooked by his father's incredibly awkward timing, and accidentally banged his arm against the table. Stella laughed as he tried to shake it off.

Phil continued, "Tell me it isn't Arnold! He was such a great boy, how could he have fallen so far!?" He waved his arms around in dramatic fashion, even falling to his knees and crying out to the heavens. "Why!? Why him!? TAKE ME INSTEAD!"

"No, Arnold does not have detention. He's taking health class soon, that's all," Stella replied with an eyeroll.

Phil gasped. "Health class!? You mean where they take a banana and they-"

"Nooo, I d-don't think they're doing anything like that! No way! Too soon!" Miles cut in quickly, laughing nervously with a quick glance at Stella. When she gave him a look that said she was clearly not amused, he gulped and shrugged his shoulders. "I'm...going to put some ice on my arm..."

"Whew! That's a relief," Phil said as he stood up and walked over to the fridge after Miles. "I'm glad you two came back when you did. I was not looking forward to having _the talk_ with Arnold. Now you two will have to do it! Suckers!" He laughed as he grabbed an egg and cheese sandwich he'd been saving.

"Hey!" Ernie shouted from across the room, for he too had decided to enter the kitchen in the middle of this awkward conversation. "That's my sandwich!"

"What are you talking about!? I made this sandwich yesterday! If you want one so bad, make your own sandwich!"

"I made _that_ sandwich this morning!"

"Oh yeah? Prove it!"

"Was it on the low shelf!?"

"...Nope!" Phil quickly took a huge bite out of the sandwich and ran out of the room, Ernie chasing after him. Miles and Stella both sighed and shook their heads.

"Hey, honey? Grab me a pen so I can sign this," Stella said as Miles stood by the counter holding a bag of frozen vegetables against his arm. "Also? I'm pretty sure it's not _that_ bad." She glanced at his arm and then at him with a smirk.

"What? It does hurt you know..." He put the vegetables away first, then grabbed a pen from an old mug on the counter and brought it over to her. He laid his hand gently on her shoulder as she took a deep breath and signed the permission slip.

"I promise, it won't be a big deal. He'll probably be learning about other stuff most of the time anyway, like drugs and alcohol and how cool it is to ride a motorcycle without a helmet."

"Keep talking like that and I'll _make you_ ride a motorcycle without a helmet."

"Duly noted," Miles gulped. "Let's bring this up to Arnold. We should probably tell him about your other idea anyway."

Stella grinned as she recalled another conversation they had earlier that day. "That's right! I almost forgot about that. Do you think he'll go for it?" She asked as she stood up from the table, walking out of the kitchen with him.

"I'm sure he'll be fine with it. The question is, will Helga go for it? And even if she doesn't mind, we don't know what the rest of her family will think."

"Free food?"

Miles gasped. "Stella! That is so insensitive!"

Stella realized how that sounded, given the Pataki family's current predicament. "Crap... Okay, little faux pas, but still. I'm sure any family would be happy to avoid all the fuss of preparing an entire Thanksgiving dinner, no matter what their budget is."

* * *

"You will not believe the awkward conversation I just had," Arnold said into the phone as he sat at his desk, the permission slip sitting on top of his mostly finished homework.

"Try me," Helga responded with crossed arms.

"Well, my mom was _not_ thrilled that we're going to be learning about sex in health class. She thinks I'm still too young, I guess."

"Pffft, that is just rich, Football Head." Helga took a bite out of a Mr. Nutty candy bar as she sat on her bed, her hands free thanks to a set of earbuds Olga gave her. "So did they sign the stupid thing or what?"

"Yeah, she signed it. She just wanted to make sure I was comfortable going to them for questions." He shivered at the thought of talking to his parents about that kind of thing. Not that he wouldn't necessarily have any questions, of course, but he wasn't thrilled with the idea of trying to explain any of these new sensations to them, or worse, hearing them explain those new sensations to _him_. The way that last conversation went didn't exactly bode well.

"You know, I probably know enough to help out if you need it," Helga snickered. "And if you faint I'll just have to give you mouth to mouth."

Arnold gulped. Would she throw him down and climb on top of him again, kissing him the way she did at the tree house? As much as the thought scared him, deep down he kind of hoped she would. "Yeeeaaah... So, here's the thing... I don't mean to change the subject, but we talked about those dinner plans that we still haven't made yet."

"And? Are we going to do this stupid thing before I die or what?"

"Well...they were thinking maybe doing it on Thanksgiving. With the whole family."

"...So let me get this straight," Helga began, rubbing her temple to try and stifle the massive headache that she already felt coming on. "Your parents want to invite me, and my entire family, to Thanksgiving dinner. At your house."

"Yes, Helga," Arnold gulped. "That's what they said."

"And the boarders...?"

"Well, um... I think the Kokoshkas won't be here, Suzie's sister invited them to her place this year, so that's a good thing."

"What about that creepy European lady who had a crush on you?" Helga asked with her hands balled into fists.

"Ms. Vail did not have a crush on me," Arnold grumbled. "And she's been gone for a long time. It's just Ernie and Mr. Hyunh, and our new boarder Vincent. But he's _really_ nice."

"You say that about everyone, Arnoldo. Just give it to me straight, is he some kind of weirdo?"

Arnold thought for a moment, not sure if he should tell her about his past. But he realized he had already told Gerald about it, so it wouldn't be fair to her to keep this secret any longer. "Okay...please don't freak out, but... Vincent was the Pigeon Man."

Helga looked at her phone as if to make sure it wasn't broken. "Are you freaking kidding me!? The Pigeon Man is living at your house now!? Isn't he a crazy psychopathic freak of nature!?"

"Not at all, Helga. He's a normal guy who had a really hard life, and now he's trying to get back on his feet. He was my dad's friend when they were kids, too. He's very nice and friendly, and actually a lot more quiet than the other boarders. Which... Honestly you have no idea how big a deal that is around here."

"Fine. As long as he's quiet and he's not covered in poop, then whatever."

"So does that mean you'll come?"

"Well, let's see..." Helga stood up and started pacing around her room. "There's just one thing you're forgetting about, my dear Arnold... MY PARENTS!"

Arnold winced at that. "I know..."

"Whatever happened to the first plan, huh!? Just me and Olga, remember!? I knew it, I knew we should have done this stupid dinner thing sooner! Now I practically have no choice!"

Arnold paused before answering in a small, defeated voice, "I mean we could just wait and do it after Thanksgiving..."

Helga sighed and sat back down on her bed with a huff. "Criminy... I didn't want to have to mention this, but money's going to be a little tighter around here. Olga's been chipping in with the savings she had left after college, but that money is _gone_ now."

"That's awful, Helga. Is she alright?"

"No, she's not alright. I just got done with her a few minutes ago. No money, no job, no boyfriend, honestly I don't think she even has regular _friends_ to hang out with. Just people she talks to online, and long distance relationships aren't easy. She's really depressed."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I hope she decides to come. I think my parents would like her."

Helga snarled, " _Everyone_ likes her, Arnoldo... Look, what I'm getting at here is, if we don't have Thanksgiving with you, then we probably won't have one at all. And I am _not_ going to Mr. Simmons's house again."

"So you'll do it? You'll invite your parents too, and spend Thanksgiving with us?" Arnold asked eagerly. Helga closed her eyes and took a deep breath. On one hand, she knew she would regret introducing her parents to his. Bob and Miriam simply could not compare to Miles and Stella, and she hadn't even spent very much time with Arnold's parents. If there was any alcohol, Miriam would become a zombie and pass out. If somehow she did stay sober, there was every possibility that she and Bob would be tearing each other apart like two angry beavers. Not to mention there was no telling how they'd interact with the boarders. She already knew Bob didn't get along with Arnold's grandpa, so there was bound to be some tension there anyway.

But on the other hand, the excitement in Arnold's voice warmed her heart. She pulled out her locket and stared into his beautiful green eyes and gave a gentle sigh. She knew what she had to do.

"Yes, Arnold. I will tell them that we are all invited to your house for Thanksgiving..."

"YES!" Arnold yelled with joy. Helga smirked as she heard what sounded like Arnold running around the room. Or was he dancing? She nearly swooned at the thought of that, but she wasn't quite done talking.

"...on one little condition."

There was a pause at first, and then Arnold replied, "What condition...?

"You're going downstairs, right now, and you're gonna convince your parents to allow you to invite me over."

"...I am...?"

"That's right. No more putting _this_ off, bucko. I'm coming over, and we're going to spend some quality time together. Just you and me, hanging out like old pals. Won't that be something?" she said with a tone that sounded way too much like a supervillain telling him of her diabolical scheme.

Arnold glanced at the permission slip on his desk and felt a chill run down his spine. "Suuure...What, um... Whatever you say, Helga..."

* * *

Awkward. If Arnold could sum up the last few days in a single word, it would be awkward. It was bad enough that health class had officially begun, separating the boys and the girls into two classrooms. Sure, at first they mostly focused on things like how they've grown over the years, ways they've changed from infancy and early childhood. Voices were cracking, hair was growing in places it didn't before, and hormones were inspiring strange new feelings toward the opposite sex. Harold was particularly embarrassed given he had a few years over everyone else, of course.

As the days went on, however, Arnold's curiosity gave way to horror as the class was introduced to just what puberty really meant. By the time the week was over, the poor boy had some very colorful new vocabulary words to learn, a few of which he wished he didn't recognize. Of course, he'd never say them out loud. Too weird.

To make things worse, Helga was eager to finally visit his house after school on Friday. She insisted on that day so they wouldn't be bogged down with homework, and could simply enjoy each other's company. All week she went about subtly torturing him with flirty winks, the occasional kiss on the cheek, and general closeness. If she was actually brave enough to act like that publicly, what on earth could she be planning to do once she had him all to herself? The thought was simply terrifying. Exciting, yes. Intriguing, sure.

But mostly terrifying.

When Friday afternoon finally came and the two of them got off at the same bus stop, Arnold couldn't help but be on edge as they walked hand-in-hand toward the Sunset Arms.

"You okay over there?" Helga asked with a raised brow, glancing down at his hand and then back up at him. "Your hand's all clammy and gross. What, are you nervous or something?"

"No, I'm not... I'm not nervous or something..."

A smirk grew on Helga's face. "You are a terrible liar, Football Head." Hearing Arnold gulp, she squeezed his hand in a tight grip and stopped in her tracks. "Hold it, bucko..."

Arnold winced and turned around, avoiding eye contact. "I'm fine, really, I just-"

"I said _hold it_." Arnold held it. His breath, that is. "You know I'm not going to freaking _kill_ you or anything, right? You're acting like I'm some kind of cannibalistic freak."

Arnold exhaled slowly, closing his eyes for a moment before finally looking into hers. "I'm sorry. It's just, health class has been freaking me out, that's all. And you can't say you haven't been purposely teasing me and tormenting me about it, by the way."

"So? Why don't you just tease me back?"

Arnold looked at her dumbfounded. "Tease you back...?"

"Doi, that's what I just said. You going deaf on me, Arnoldo?"

"No, I just... It doesn't exactly come naturally to me. I'm not good at it, and I don't want to hurt your feelings by going too far, or taking out my frustration on you."

"Oh, don't worry, I know a thing or two that'll take care of your frustration," Helga snickered. "You're my boyfriend. I'm your girlfriend. Teasing can be _fun_. You know about this 'fun' idea, don't you? Or are you as dull as Mr. Frank?"

Helga nudged him at that, and he gave her a little smile. "Alright. I'll try."

"And by the way, you _did_ tease me a little before this stupid class got in your head."

"Maybe you're right..."

"Heck yeah, I'm right. Now come on, we're burning daylight and it's _freezing_ out here," Helga said with a commanding tone as she started walking, yanking him by the hand until he caught up and walked by her side. Arnold was relieved, feeling silly about the whole thing. Helga was just teasing him all along. She wasn't going to do anything out of line, or weird. They'd be as innocent with their affection as they've always been.

And then Helga said, "Oh, and one more thing? I am going to rock your world."

Dang it.

* * *

"Relax, honey. She's just coming so they can hang out for a little while and do some homework together," Miles said as soothingly as he could, rubbing Stella's shoulders as she sat on the couch, watching toward the front door and listening for any sign of their approach.

"Oh, I'm sure that's all they have planned. Yup, I've _never_ heard the old 'study buddy' excuse before in my life. Surely those _confused_ and _hormonal_ _children_ will be perfectly responsible," Stella snarled at him.

"We haven't so much as caught him with a dirty magazine and you think our Arnold would do something like that?"

"Have you not been paying attention to the internet lately? It's literally _insane_. One minute you're looking up cat videos and then one click later, you're looking at something that is definitely _not_ a cat."

Miles didn't respond, having just checked his phone.

"Excuse me? What are you doing?"

"Looking up cat videos."

Stella rolled her eyes and reached up behind her to snatch the phone out of his hands. "Hey!" he protested, but by then Stella saw that it was merely a text from Arnold that they were almost home. She tossed his phone onto the couch beside her and got up to wait by the door.

"What are you going to do, drill the girl? Arnold told you how shy she was. You're going to scare her off."

"He also told us she was tough as nails and that she used to _bully_ him. I'm sure she can handle me _welcoming her_ into our home. Or do you really think I'm going to-"

She was interrupted by the sound of the doorknob turning and a sudden burst of cool air. As Arnold swung the door open, his eyes were tilted down toward the floor like he was waiting for something. When the horde of animals didn't come running out, he shrugged and walked in. Helga took a deep breath and entered the house behind him.

She couldn't help but smile as she realized another little dream of hers came true. Arnold finally welcomed her into his house. She wouldn't have to spend her time hiding from everyone, or putting on some crazy disguise. More importantly, she always felt left out whenever Arnold would have a bunch of friends over. Harold got to hang out here occasionally and he bullied Arnold too, so why wasn't she good enough to be included? However, now that she has seen just how much she can make him squirm, she wondered if perhaps she had it all wrong. Maybe he was too shy to invite her even before they were a couple.

"Hey, Mom. This is Helga," Arnold said as he tried to cover a nervous gulp with a sheepish grin.

"Stella, right?" Helga asked as she casually walked up to the older woman. "Or do you prefer Mrs. Shortman...?"

"Stella's fine, dear. It's nice to finally meet you! Arnold's told us so much about you," Stella said warmly.

"Has he now?" Helga gave Arnold a quick glance that made his blood run cold.

"Mostly good things. And by the way, I was a real firecracker when I was your age, so I can't judge the rest too much."

"Don't let her fool you, she still bullies me all the time," Miles said as he walked in, having watched from the sidelines for a moment. Stella crossed her arms and gave him that "oh really" smirk as Miles held his hand out to her. "Good to see you, Helga."

Helga stared at his hand for a moment, as if he was handing her a live rat, but slowly she reached out and shook it. Awkwardly. It wasn't like people ever really wanted to shake her hand before, after all. "Thank you, um...Miles." Helga cleared her throat a bit once she pulled her hand away.

"I uh, just want you guys to know I'm not, like... I don't bully him anymore, so... Yeah..." Helga shuffled her feet a bit as her smile dimmed. Arnold touched her arm, not expecting her to be reminded of their more difficult past as soon as she walked in the door.

"Don't worry, they know. Right guys?" Arnold said as he gave his parents a pleading look.

Miles nodded slowly. "Oh, of course. We didn't mean to imply anything, or... You know what I mean. We're glad to have you here, Helga."

"Absolutely," Stella added before kneeling down to meet Helga at her level. "We know how much you mean to our boy, and frankly? You've done a lot for him. For us, too. So no worries, okay?"

Helga nodded and her smile returned to her. "Okay. Thanks."

"Besides, I'm sure the little runt deserves it sometimes," Stella snickered.

"Hey!" Arnold protested, but his mother gave him a wink to let him know she wasn't being serious.

Helga laughed and shook her head. "Oh, he can be a real Football Head sometimes. But only sometimes." She smirked at him and gave him a playful nudge. "He's pretty good to me, actually." Arnold's annoyed look faded quickly at the compliment.

"He better be," Miles teased. "We Shortmans...er, Shortmen?... We're a family of gentlemen." Stella rolled her eyes at that as she stood up. "Now c'mon, make yourself at home. You kids hungry or anything?"

"Actually, uhhh... I was hoping we could get started on our homework upstairs," Arnold said quietly, not daring to look at Helga. He knew she was staring at him now, even if he didn't say anything.

Stella pondered for a moment. On one hand, she knew how these things could go. On the other hand, she did want to believe that her son really did intend to work on homework instead of doing anything too mature for his age, and from the looks of it Helga was actually more nervous about it than him.

"Alright, then. I'll be up to check on you two, okay? Oh and Arnold, make sure she knows where the bathrooms are, honey."

"Um, okay. I will, Mom." Arnold wasn't sure why, but Helga understood and gave her a look of silent gratitude. Stella responded with a quick nod as they finally walked upstairs.

Miles wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, leaning over her shoulder. "I am so freaking proud of you right now. You handled that so well..."

"Yeah, yeah, and you were worried for nothing."

"I was. I was."

Still, as Miles kissed her cheek, she couldn't help but stare up the staircase. Some small part of her still couldn't help but worry.

* * *

"So this is the famous 'Arnold's room' I've heard so much about," Helga said as she walked in and kicked her shoes off right away, dropping her bag on the floor on top of them.

"Again, you _have_ been in here before." Arnold took his shoes off more carefully and then stepped behind her. "I'll take your jacket."

"Oh, you Short- _men_ are ever so sweet," Helga snickered. As much as she wanted to protest and handle her own stinking jacket, she couldn't help but enjoy the idea that Arnold wanted to spoil her a bit. She pulled her hands into her sleeves and relaxed her arms as he grabbed the top of the jacket and slid it down off of her. She couldn't help but shiver as she felt his hands briefly brush against her shoulders.

As he hung their jackets, she walked to the middle of his room and looked around, taking it all in. The red couch. The stereo system. The huge skylight that took up his whole ceiling. The freaking water cooler. She was finally in the domain of her beloved, and it was truly exquisite.

"You okay?" Arnold asked.

"Yeah. I just can't believe I'm here, that's all."

Arnold gently took her hand and gave her a warm smile. "I know. C'mon, let's find something fun to do. Instead of just standing around."

Helga raised her brow and pulled her hand away to cross her arms. "You mean like homework? What gives, anyway? I thought I told you this was a 'no homework' kind of day, bucko."

"I mean... We could study, I guess..."

Helga's eyes widened. "Wait, wait, wait... Were you planning on _lying_ to your mom? Was that supposed to be a ruse to get us up here?"

"N-No, of course not!"

Helga laughed wickedly. "Oh, Arnold, you buffoon. Get your freaking books out."

Arnold shrugged and did as she said, bringing his bag to his desk and pulling out a few binders and notebooks. Helga plopped herself down in his desk chair before he could.

"Um...?"

"Couch it, Arnoldo. I'll look through this crap and find something interesting so I don't die of _boredom_ up here. And put on some music or something."

Arnold sighed and sat on the couch, turning his stereo on with his remote. He slouched a bit, leaning back and looking up through the skylight. The clouds were only getting thicker, the natural light provided by the sun dimming with each passing moment. With another press of a button on his fancy universal remote, he adjusted the lights that hung from the beams overhead. Helga glanced up for a moment, impressed by the lighting setup he had.

"Hm. Much better. Now let's see, no way we're doing math. English is sort of my forte but I do _not_ have enough time for it right now. History, yuck."

"I actually finished that in class anywa-"

"Eureka!" she yelled as she pulled out the red binder. Arnold's face turned the same color.

"Helga, no..."

"Arnold, _yes._ " Helga spun around to face him with a wicked grin, his health class binder now sitting on her lap. "Now then, what have we here..." She started to look through the sheets he'd been handed, some of which she got in the girls' health class. Diagrams of the male and female body with blank boxes to be filled in. A checklist where one must go through a list of changes that occur during puberty and check "male" or "female" or "both" for each item.

"Helga, please, let's do English instead! You're a poet, after all!"

"Man, can you believe they gave us this stuff to take home?"

"You are a truly gifted poet, a wordsmith beyond compare!"

"We should do everything in this binder," Helga said with a wicked grin.

Arnold began to panic, pulling on his own hair as he yelled, "You are truly a master of the craft! TEACH ME HOW TO SING LIKE YOU!"

"FLASH CARDS!?" Helga pulled a stack of index cards from a pocket in his binder, yanking off the rubber band so she could start looking through them. "That's it, we are going to test your vocabulary. I'm really going to enjoy this," she laughed wickedly. "So, should I show you the words or the definitions?"

"...One second," Arnold said quietly before he grabbed the pillow next to him and screamed into it.

"Definitions it is! I'll give you a definition, you tell me what it is. Got it?"

Arnold pulled the pillow away from his face, his expression that of a boy who was completely and utterly defeated. "Fine." When Helga crossed her legs and leaned back in his chair, he had to close his eyes tight for a moment, not thrilled with the thoughts that ran through his head at the sight. Helga shuffled the index cards up and then looked at the one on top.

"Easy one. The hormone that makes changes in males."

"...Testosterone."

"Good boy," Helga said so casually it made Arnold cringe. She put that card on the bottom and he braced himself for what would come next. "The scientific word for the female egg."

"Ova?"

"Close. Ovum. Ova's the plural one, I think." She grabbed the next card and a little smirk appeared on her face, one which terrified poor Arnold. "The male reproductive cell."

Arnold gulped. "Can we skip that one?"

"The _male_... _reproductive_... _cell_."

"...Sperm..."

"Very good, Mr. Shortman." Arnold kept balling his hands into fists over and over as she got the next card. "What's it called when a female cannot get pregnant?"

"Sterility?"

"Almost. Try the other one."

"...Infertility."

"Bingo." Helga blinked at the next card. "Well, this one is a doozy..."

"Just give it to me."

"You sure about that, Arnoldo? I think we're a little young, don't you?"

"Helga..."

"You are such a Football Head," she laughed before leaning forward. "The female sex organ."

Arnold's eyes widened. Why was the room spinning? He was sitting still and the room was spinning. Rooms don't spin. Rooms aren't meant to spin. Was his head spinning?

"Go on, you know this one," Helga said with a wicked smirk as she wheeled herself closer to him. "Say it."

"I... I will have to pass..."

Helga's jaw dropped. "Oh, brother... You can't say it, can you?"

Arnold swallowed hard. "Sure I can, I just...do not want to..."

"If you can say it, just say it." Helga put the cards and the binder back on his desk and then wheeled even closer. "Say it, Arnold. Say it or I will make you say it."

"Helga, just let me pass on this one!"

"No way, bucko!" She stood up then and seemed to tower over him. "I want to hear you say it!"

"No! I'm not going to say it!" Arnold laughed nervously. Why was he laughing now, he wondered? What the heck was going on?

"Oh, so this is funny to you?" Helga started to laugh as well, already deeply amused by this.

"No! ...A little! But I'm still not going to say it!"

"That's it." Helga shoved him down on the couch by the shoulders, pinning him on his back. "Say it! NOW!"

"You can't make me!" Arnold protested, squirming in her grasp. But it was no use.

"Say it!"

"No!"

"Say it!"

"I'm not saying it!"

At that point, Helga climbed up on top of him, straddling him as she kept him pinned down. "Criminy, just say it already!"

"You can't make me!"

"Wanna bet!?" She leaned down and pressed her lips against his, holding them there as if to breathe enough courage into him to give in to her demands. When she pulled away, she shouted one more time, "SAY IT!"

The door opened. "Hey guys, why are-"

"VAGINA!" Arnold finally yelled out, feeling the tension instantly begin to leave his body. But it didn't last long. He looked up at Helga just in time to watch her scramble off of him, stumbling back and almost falling to the floor.

Noticing a look of pure horror on her face, Arnold sat up and followed Helga's gaze and there was his mother, standing in the doorway with a very similar expression. Before either of them could speak, her horror turned into anger.

"Both of you, downstairs. _NOW._ "


	14. Times Are Changing

**Hearts of Gold**

14\. Times Are Changing

"Son, I want you to know that you can be honest with me. And I'm pretty sure you will, so I'm only going to ask you once: what happened?"

Arnold kept his eyes down, leaning forward with his arms resting folded on the kitchen table. How could this have happened? He knew they didn't intend to look like they were doing something seriously wrong at their age, but he also knew that it totally did look that way. "It wasn't what it looked like."

Miles raised an eyebrow. "You mean Helga wasn't sitting on top of you as you screamed the word 'vagina' out loud?"

Arnold sighed. "She was, but it wasn't... We were going over vocabulary words for health class. She gave me a definition and I had to give her an answer. When it got to... _that one_ , I was too embarrassed to say it. So she pinned me down and made me."

Miles blinked and tilted his head, staring at his son as he listened. "So...she pinned you down because you were scared to say a certain vocabulary word from homework, and you...screamed it out so she would stop."

"Yes! That's exactly what happened, Dad. And it wasn't, like... It was weird, but it was kind of funny too, honestly. We were even laughing about it, sort of. But I swear, that's all it was. We weren't trying to... You know, do anything..."

Miles nodded slowly and stood up from his chair, walking over to the fridge. "You up for a Yahoo?"

"We have Yahoo...?"

"I have a stash in the back." Miles reached in carefully, maneuvering his arm past the milk and the orange juice, a couple containers of leftover pasta, and another sandwich that everyone would probably fight over later until he felt the familiar ring of aluminum at the top of one of his Yahoo sodas. He grabbed one can for himself and one for Arnold, plus a couple straws, and sat back down at the table.

"I miss the glass bottles," Miles said as he cracked his can open.

"Um... They still sell those, Dad."

"Really? Hm..." Miles took a long sip and gave a long sigh. "First things first... I believe you, Arnold. That story is a little weird, but I don't think you'd make up something like that. Okay?"

"Okay..." Arnold nodded slowly, not sure where his dad was going with this.

"Now tell me. How do you feel about Helga?"

Arnold was taken aback. "I thought... We've kind of talked about this already, haven't we?"

"Well, I know you've told me a lot about her. And I can guess a few things from the _way_ you talk about her. But I want to hear it directly from you. How do you feel about her?"

Arnold paused, staring at his can of Yahoo as if the answer he was looking for was written on the label somewhere. "Honestly, I don't know how to put it into words. I know that 'like' isn't the word, and 'like-like' doesn't work either. It's like... I can't imagine what my life would have been like if she wasn't part of it. And I don't even want to imagine a future without her. Does that make any sense?"

A warm smile grew on Miles's face. He knew all too well what that was. He wanted to tell Arnold that as a matter of fact, there was a word for such feelings, but he knew Arnold would have to find it on his own. "Yeah, it does. I think I know what you mean."

Arnold finally looked up to meet his father's gaze. "What do I do? I can't let this ruin things. She needs me too much..."

"Well, Arnold, it's important you understand _why_ this was a problem in the first place. You're going to be having _other_ feelings about her very soon, if you haven't already. And you won't understand them at first, but just because you don't get what's going on doesn't mean you'll never react to those feelings. Heck, those feelings might even drive you a little crazy. They might scare you at first, but that's okay at your age. You're young."

Arnold swallowed hard. "I think... I have sort of an idea what you mean, but this wasn't-"

"I know, kid. I know. The thing is? The way you two were, it could have been. It could have gotten way weirder for both of you, and that's a lot to deal with for kids your age. I know you wouldn't _intentionally_ do anything drastic, but still, you have to be more careful. Okay?"

Arnold nodded. "Okay. I'm sorry, Dad..."

"I know you are, pal. Later on I want to continue this talk, go over some stuff. Your mom's been after me to do that anyway."

Arnold groaned as if in agony and laid his head against his arms, face down.

"Tell me about it. You know I could only do so much to keep her off your back before. She'll be watching you like a hawk from now on." Miles reached over and pat his son on the back. "Welcome to growing up, kid."

"Do you think Mom would go hard on her? I..."

"Hm?"

"I don't want this to ruin things. Not even just Thanksgiving, but... I just hope we're still allowed to be, you know..."

Miles nodded and gave him a knowing smile. "You still want her to be your girlfriend."

Arnold nodded a little as well, keeping his head down and his face hidden. "Yeah. I really do."

"Let's just wait and see how your mom's talk with her goes. After that, she and I are going to discuss what we talked about, and we'll see what we can do. Deal?"

"Okay. Deal..." Arnold took a deep breath and lifted his head up, finally taking his first sip of Yahoo since his dad set it down in front of him.

* * *

"Tell me what happened," Stella said calmly, but with a stern no-nonsense tone.

Helga swallowed hard. "I'm sorry," she said as she leaned forward on the couch, her hands clasped together and her knee shaking. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes, but she did her best to fight them off.

"I know. I just want to know what was going on up there." Stella leaned forward as well, trying to get a look at Helga's expression as she sat beside her.

"I, um... We were j-just trying to... We were doing homework, and... I d-don't know, I started teasing him, a-and... I'm sorry, I..."

Stella watched as Helga's misty eyes darted around the room. For such a tough girl, she seemed much more scared than Stella expected. "Hey," Stella said in a gentler tone. "Let's take it down a notch, okay? Calm ourselves down."

"Oh, do _not_ tell me to calm down! You have no freaking idea how-"

"I meant both of us, dear."

"...Oh..."

Stella took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to release some of her tension and her anger. Clearly it wasn't doing either of them any favors. "When you're ready, you tell me what happened, okay?"

Helga nodded and took a deep, shaky breath of her own. She closed her eyes before she began to speak. "I was helping him with vocab. I got to the flash card for... _vagina_ , and the little twerp couldn't just say it. It was a freaking answer on his homework, but nope. Can't say it out loud," she snarled.

"I see..." Stella looked away for a moment to take that in. Apparently Miles was right about Arnold. He was growing up, that much was certain, but perhaps he wasn't growing up as quickly as she thought. "Okay. Now tell me how you two went from arguing about the homework to... _that_."

Helga growled and pulled at her pigtails before standing up in front of her. "It was a freaking wrestling move! Have you never watched wrestling before!? You know, bunch of hairy meatheads beating the crap out of each other, sometimes a guy gets smacked in the head with a metal chair, then one gets pinned down long enough and the show's over. Criminy, do I _have_ to explain this!?"

Stella tilted her head at that. There stood a young girl in a pink dress and pigtails, even wore a pink bow in her hair, and she was explaining professional wrestling to her. "No, Helga, I know what wrestling is."

"Then what...is the big...freaking...deal!?"

"The big deal is, you're too young to be climbing on boys like that."

Helga scoffed. "I don't climb on _boys_ like that. Criminy, what do you think I am!? Some kind of-"

"I think you're a normal girl who's been dealing with a lot of changes. But you're scared. You don't know how to control your feelings sometimes, and that scares you because some of these feelings are new for you."

Helga stared at the older woman, wanting to continue her rant. Only she knew it would be useless. Stella hit the nail right on the head. "Maybe..."

"You know, it's okay to be scared. You just have to be more careful. You're still a kid, and you should enjoy it. Don't grow up too fast. I didn't have a choice in that matter, but you still do." Stella adjusted in her seat and pat the cushion next to her. "C'mon, sit with me."

Helga continued to stare at her for a moment before giving in and rejoining her on the couch.

"Helga, are you sure you should even _be_ in a relationship right now?"

Helga inhaled sharply and spun her head around to look at her, eyes wide with worry. "Huh?" she squeaked as her nervous trembling returned.

"I mean, you're only eleven years old. Do you think you can handle-"

"I can't lose him!" she yelled. "I can't. Please... Please don't, I-I'm sorry, I won't do anything like that, I swear, just please, please, d-don't make..." Helga started to hyperventilate as the room began to spin.

"Helga, honey, I didn't say you had to lose him..." Stella reached over to rub the poor girl's back in slow, soothing circles. "Ssshhh, honey... It's okay, just take a deep breath."

"But you're going to t-take him away, aren't you!?" Helga wrapped her arms tightly around herself.

"Hush now, dear... I'm not taking him away, alright? Just breathe..." Stella gulped at the pitiful sight. Was Arnold really that important to her? It couldn't be that alone. Stella realized there must be something else going on. She decided not to poke and prod at that right now, given the girl's delicate state at the moment. As much as she wanted to kick herself for it, she decided to take a page from her husband's playbook and change the subject a little. "Arnold told me you used a locket to help the Green Eyes. Do you still have it?"

Helga closed her eyes tightly and nodded, sniffling as she reached into her dress and pulled the locket out.

"May I see it?"

Helga nodded once more and traded the locket for some tissues. Stella held it in her hand with great care, as if she was handling a precious artifact from another world. She examined it with caution, noting the cracked glass and various scratches and areas where the gold had chipped off. Clearly it was a very old locket, and she didn't want to damage it any further.

Turning it upside down, she carefully opened it up to the inscription, and read it out loud. "Arnold my soul, you are always in my heart. Love, Helga G. Pataki." Moved by the girl's words, she gave Helga a warm smile. "That's very sweet." Stella closed the locket and handed it back to her.

Helga swallowed hard, not able to say anything yet as she hid the locket away once more. After a moment of silence passed between them, Helga finally regained her composure.

"Feel better?" Stella asked as she touched her shoulder.

Helga nodded, keeping her eyes closed. "I..."

"What is it, honey?"

"I love him," Helga whispered.

Stella stared at her, rubbing her shoulder as she tried to think of just what to say. She knew she had to be careful. "Love is a pretty big word for someone your age."

"I guess, but... You don't understand. Honestly, I... Everything that's good about me, it came from loving him. He's the best thing that ever happened to me, and I don't know where I would be without him. Honestly I didn't know what kindness or compassion even was before I met him..."

Stella blinked with surprise. "You can't truly mean that, Helga. What about your family?"

"Family? What family? All my dad ever does is yell at me or ignore me. He used to hound me over stupid achievements like spelling bees and crap like that, but he gave up on supporting me with pretty much _anything_. Guess I failed him too many times. And my mom? Once in a while she's okay, but most of the time she's passed out on the couch thanks to those smoothies she's always drinking. You know what I mean. She lost her license once, you know."

Stella winced at that. She knew her parents were rough from what Arnold told her, but this was worse than she thought. "Well, what about Olga?"

Helga paused. Olga was the only one she could say was decent. Still, the past did not provide many fond memories. "She's...better. But for a long time, Olga was all about Olga and that's it. She lived to impress our parents, and I didn't matter." Helga shifted in her seat. "Until I met Arnold, I didn't know what love was..."

"I know, honey. But you were still in preschool."

"Yeah..." Helga sighed...and then spun around to look at her. "Wait, what?" Did she just say preschool? How does she...?

"Listen... I'm not saying that you don't love him, or that you can't love him. I know he cares about you a great deal too. All I'm saying is, there are some things you're just too young to do. What I walked in on was one of them."

"But-"

"And," Stella continued, "I believe that you didn't mean it to look the way it did. I also know that at this age, you're starting to go through some pretty wild changes. Which is natural, but it's also really confusing and really scary. Despite all that, it doesn't change what happened. That was simply unacceptable. It might be hard for you to work these weird new feelings out and keep your cool, but you have to do better. Not even just for Arnold, but for your own sake too. Understand?"

Helga stared for a moment before slowly nodding and lowering her head once more. "Yeah. I understand..."

"Good."

"I guess you're going to call my parents now, aren't you?"

"I can't believe I'm saying this but... I haven't decided yet. Miles and I are going to discuss things, and we'll go from there."

Helga looked up with disbelief. "So, wait... What about Thanksgiving? Am I still invited...?"

Stella gave her a warm smile and touched her hand. "Of course you are. And by the way, if it's too tough to talk about at home, I want you to know that if you have any questions about this stuff, you can talk to me. We're both girls, so I actually know what you're going through."

Helga gulped nervously and averted her gaze. "I don't know..."

"I know it must be weird, since I'm not your mom, and since I _am_ Arnold's mom. I get it. I'm just giving you the option, that's all. And if you do come to me for help, I won't tell anyone what we talked about."

"...You mean, you'll keep it in confidence?"

"Promise."

Helga gave her a little smile and shrugged. She couldn't place it, but something about Stella reminded her of an old friend. "I'll think about it..."

"Good." Stella opened her arms for a hug, and Helga hesitated at first but accepted, having the feeling that Stella wouldn't let her down. She was tougher than Helga expected, but she was also fair. She listened to how she felt, which was more than Miriam ever did. Helga leaned toward her and closed her eyes, and as Stella gave her a warm embrace, she finally got an idea what a mother's love really felt like.

* * *

Arnold and Helga waited together in the kitchen as Miles and Stella discussed the matter in the living room. Arnold could tell that Helga was shaken up, and sat close to her so he could hold her hand. Not much was said between them. They told each other that they explained what really happened and told the two adults how much they cared about each other. Helga couldn't help but stare at Arnold as she tossed Stella's comment about preschool around in her mind. Did Arnold remember how they met? And if so, did he tell his parents? Or did they know some other way? Could Arnold's grandpa actually remember?

These thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Arnold's parents, ready to pass judgment.

"Well, kids, here's the scoop..." Miles said as he and Stella sat down at the table. Stella gave him a look at that.

"You are such a dork..." She said with a nudge. Somehow that brief bit of banter helped calm Helga's nerves. Stella continued, "We realized a few things after talking with you two, and with each other. One, this is clearly a first offense, and an accident too. Plus it sounds like we put the fear of God into you anyway. Two, we're both a little surprised to see just how deep your feelings are at this age. And three..."

Arnold and Helga gulped at the same time as Stella paused.

"...In spite of all this, it seems like you might actually be a good influence on each other."

Arnold blinked and looked at Helga, who suddenly sat up straighter. "So, does this mean...?"

Miles looked at Helga and nodded. "You're off the hook. Both of you. It wasn't as big a deal as we thought it was, and we're guessing we probably scared you kids enough to avoid any serious issues."

Helga let out a huge sigh of relief. She couldn't believe it. She shook her head in disbelief as she gave them a big smile. "Thank you guys. I'm... Just, thank you." Arnold squeezed her hand and reached over with his other hand to rub her back.

"You okay now?"

She nodded as she looked over at him. "Yeah. I actually feel great, to be honest..."

Miles and Stella exchanged knowing looks as Stella reached over under the table to take her husband's hand.

"Now, as for your health class homework," Miles said as he looked at Arnold, "How about you and I take care of that? We can have that talk as we go over it. That way it'll be a little less weird."

"As for you," Stella directed at Helga, "If you need any help and you just can't seem to get it at home, I'd like to remind you that you do have the option of coming to me with anything. Whether you still need to do your health homework or just...girl talk. I understand if it's a little weird coming to Arnold's mom for that stuff, but just remember I'm an option. Okay?"

Helga nodded. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

Miles lit up then and looked at Stella. "I have an idea." He turned and looked at the kids too, excited about something. Stella rolled her eyes.

"Yes, dear?"

"How about the four of us check out the mall? I haven't been there in so long. It'll be fun!"

Arnold looked at him curiously. "Actually, a new book store did just open up there..."

"I don't know..." Helga squeezed Arnold's hand. She was hoping the two of them could have some alone time to hang out like they usually did. Although she was also interested in that book store. Not that she had much money, but wouldn't mind browsing.

"We can stop by Uncle Hicker's for pretzels. My treat," Miles said

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Helga said as she practically jumped up out of the kitchen chair and ran upstairs to get her things.

* * *

"I gotta say, Phoebe, I'm having a blast with that book you suggested," Helga said before taking a big bite out of a sandwich she managed to swipe from Arnold's kitchen last Friday without anyone noticing. Arnold glanced at the sandwich, noticing how much it resembled the work of one Mr. Hyunh.

"You mean _Within the Realm of Shadows_? I had a feeling you might actually enjoy some of its...heavier elements." Phoebe blushed and giggled bashfully into her hand.

"Oh, it's good stuff. The part where the vampire does that thing with-"

"HELGA!" Phoebe interrupted before clearing her throat. She hoped Helga would keep in mind the company they were in. "Perhaps this is not the appropriate social setting to discuss such matters," she said with a nervous laugh.

Helga smirked and glanced over at Arnold. "Yeah, good point."

Arnold and Gerald stared at each other, both of them suddenly much more interested in finding out what lurked between the covers of their girlfriends' new favorite read. Arnold was especially interested, given he bought that book for her. Okay, so his parents helped him out, but he promised he'd do some extra chores to make up for it. Between shoveling snow and preparing for Christmas, he'd have enough to do.

It was the middle of the third week of November, and despite having two days left, a lot of their peers were acting like vacation had unofficially begun already. Once their exam on puberty was over, kids were goofing off more than usual, hardly paying any attention as Mr. Frank began lecturing them on nutrition instead.

However, as close as Thanksgiving was, the specter of Christmas loomed over everyone. Some complained that their families already started decorating. Others already had ideas for what they wanted. Overall there was a general sense that time was flying by. Soon Thanksgiving would come, and then Christmas would follow soon after, and then it would be a whole new year. Most were excited by that, eager for this year to finally be over.

Stinky, however, felt like he was running out of time.

As he sat at his usual lunch table with Harold and Sid, he no longer stared at the table, or the wall, or the lunch line. His eyes were glued to Lila herself, sitting with Sheena and Eugene. Neither of them noticed him, and if Lila did she pretended otherwise. Even Harold and Sid couldn't snap him out of it as they argued about some dumb idea Harold had and turned to him to decide. Not until Sid launched a bit of mashed potatoes at him, hitting him square in the cheek.

"What 'n the heck ya do that for?" Stinky protested, wiping it off with a napkin as Harold laughed and pointed at him. It was then Stinky noticed how much Harold really did resemble a giant baby.

"We're worried, you freaking weirdo," Sid snickered. "You keep staring over there with that goofy look on your face. What gives, Stink?"

"I got it!" Harold interrupted before Stinky could even get a word in. "He has a crush on Sheena!"

"Dang it, Harold, I do not!" the taller boy objected.

"Wait, it's not Eugene is it?"

Stinky sighed. "No, ya dang fool. Now mind your own business and leave me alone..."

A light went off in Sid's head and his eyes widened. "Ohhh, I see now. Get this, Harold," he said as he turned to his old chum, "Stinky's in love with Lila!"

"That's it!" Stinky said loudly as he pushed his chair back, the chair scraping loudly against the cafeteria floor as he stood up and grabbed his brown bag off the table. Harold and Sid were genuinely taken by surprise, as Stinky never stood up to them like this.

"Hey man, just relax, okay? We're just having fun..." Sid gulped.

"Y'all are jerks! Get yourself another dang tie breaker." Stinky walked away from their table, not looking back.

"Yeah, well... Maybe we will! We don't need a big dumb hick like you anyway!" Harold yelled without thinking, instantly regretting the words as they came out. Stinky winced, but he didn't turn back and he didn't stop. He spotted an empty chair at Arnold's table and walked up behind it.

"Hey, fellas. Can I sit with you guys?"

Arnold, Helga, Phoebe, and Gerald had been watching the whole thing once the yelling started. None of them were sure what was going on, but they all heard what Harold just said. Helga glanced at Arnold for a moment, and then up at Stinky. "You see anyone sitting there?"

Stinky blinked. "No..."

"Then have a seat," she said with a mildly annoyed tone. Once Stinky sat down she added much more quietly, "Screw those guys."

"Why thank you very much," Stinky replied with a small sad smile. Helga smiled a little too, even more so when Arnold brushed his pinky over hers. He wanted to tell her openly how proud he was, but he knew Helga would appreciate the more subtle, discrete approach.

"Anyway," Helga said as she looked back at Arnold, pulling her pinky out to wrap it around his, "Where were we?"

"Arnold was attempting to explain the literary merits of the superhero-themed graphic novel he purchased," Phoebe said with an adjustment of her glasses. Helga laughed.

"That's right. Tell us again just how cool Captain Virtue is," she mocked.

Arnold rolled his eyes. "I get it, Helga. You don't like 'cape' comics."

"Honestly? I gotta admit, buddy, I'm not a capes guy either."

"YES! Up top!" Helga held up her hand for a high five, which Gerald met reluctantly. "In your face, Football Head!"

Arnold sighed. "Whatever."

"I mean, don't get me wrong, they're alright, I just prefer the martial arts stuff. Like She-Ninja."

Phoebe gave him a confused look then, grimacing slightly as well. "She-Ninja?"

"Heck yeah! She's one bad mama, slicing and dicing like you wouldn't believe," Gerald said smoothly. Arnold and Helga exchanged an "uh-oh" glance as Phoebe cleared her throat.

"Firstly, the accurate term for a 'she ninja' is kunoichi. Secondly, exactly what is it about this _kunoichi_ that you find so entertaining?"

Gerald blinked as he stared at her. "Uhhh...she, um...kicks cyborg butt?"

"Oh I bet she does," Phoebe grumbled. "Anything _else_ you find interesting? Hmmm?"

"Well, um..."

Stinky couldn't take it any longer. The gentle touch between Arnold and Helga. The harmless little spat between Gerald and Phoebe. It all just made his heart ache further. He covered his ears and closed his eyes tight, lowering his head toward the table.

"You okay, Stinky...?" Arnold asked as everyone turned to look at him.

Stinky couldn't handle it. He couldn't stand that the only time he had anything close to a girlfriend was...wait a minute...

"Helga can we go talk somewhere private real quick!?" Stinky asked as his head shot up and he stared at her wide-eyed.

"Uhhh, what the heck?" Helga looked at Arnold, not sure what to do. He swallowed hard at first, not knowing why Stinky would want to talk to her in private. What did he have to say that was too sensitive to say in front of everyone?

Helga looked at Stinky again, and from the look in his eye she already knew the answer to that. She turned back to Arnold to give him a reassuring look, leaning over to whisper to him, "It's okay. We'll talk about it later." She kissed his cheek before she stood up, easily calming his nerves. Gerald smirked and shook his head at that.

"Alright, Smelly, let's make it quick. Hallway better be fine, because I do _not_ want to be gone too long. Got it?"

Stinky nodded eagerly and got up to follow her out.

* * *

"WHAT!?" Helga shouted.

"I need you to be my gal again. Ain't gotta be too long, just until Lila notices me," Stinky gulped. "Please, Helga, I'm begging you! I'm all out of ideas. She won't talk to me, she won't look at me. What should I do?"

"Look, Stinky. Are you sure she's the one for you? You're hardly the lamest boy in class, and soon we'll be in a new school with a bunch of kids we don't know. Maybe you're not supposed to find someone yet."

Stinky glared at her. "I bet you would have felt mighty bad if I said that about Arnold when you needed _my_ help."

Helga actually winced. She wasn't used to being cut down that quickly and efficiently, and never would have expected it from Stinky. She sighed and closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose with her fingers. "Fine. I'm sorry. You're right, I wouldn't have liked that at all... Look, just... I'm with Arnold now. I got what _I_ wanted and I can't risk losing that. More importantly!?" she snarled as she jabbed a finger in his chest, "I can't risk _hurting_ him. Not for you or for _anybody_ , bucko."

Stinky nodded slowly and held his face in his hands, leaning back against the wall. "I'm sorry, Helga... I reckon I just can't help feelin' lonesome. Y'all have each other and I ain't got anybody. I'm just too dang foolish, I guess..." He slid down the wall, folding his knees and keeping his face hidden.

Helga sighed, shaking her head at the sight of him. She knew too well what he was going through, so she sat down beside him. "Do you still want me to talk to Lila for you? I'll be honest, my mind's been so occupied I forgot to do that."

Stinky laughed sardonically and shook his head. "There's no point..." He took a deep breath and released it as he pulled his hands away, looking up at the ceiling with red eyes and a tear-streaked face. "You know, I may not be the brightest tool in the shed, or the funniest or richest or most popular, but... I reckon this heart of mine has a whole lot of love in it, only I got no one to share it with..."

Helga gulped, and for just a moment she wondered if she actually found a kindred spirit in a way. It didn't come easy to her, but she had to try and be the person she wished she had during moments like these. "Hey," she said as she put a hand on his shoulder. "Hang in there, okay? You can't give up hope. When life gets you down, you just have to look up. You know?"

Stinky blinked, glancing at her before continuing to stare at the ceiling with a look of confusion. "But Helga, I'm already looking up..."

Helga rolled her eyes. "Criminy, you know what I mean, Stinky. Just stop moping around so much and try being more positive. You know, just try talking to her. And by the way, it wouldn't kill you to try engaging in some conversation with us. Maybe smile a little more, if that's your thing." She cringed a little as she said that last part. "And by the way? The four of us aren't going to make fun of you. Okay?"

Stinky nodded. He sniffled a bit and pulled out a handkerchief to dab at his eyes and his nose. "Thanks, Helga. You can go back in there now. I just need a minute or two alone out here."

Helga shrugged and stood up. "You got it. When you come back, don't be such a freaking downer. Sheesh," she snarled in a more familiar tone. "Just hang in there, okay?" she added more softly.

"I'll try. See y'all in a few minutes." With that Helga actually gave him a little reassuring smile and then walked back into the cafeteria, leaving him all alone. Again. Stinky propped his head up with his arm, resting his elbow against his knee.

"What am I gonna do?" he thought out loud. "There ain't anybody who'd agree to be my gal, even just for show until Lila notices me again. I probably won't ever find love _period_." He sighed and wiped his face one more time, standing up to brush off his pants so he wasn't all dusty from sitting on the floor. He did his best to brighten his expression, deciding that at the very least he could try to pretend he felt better.

Not far from where he sat, the door to the girls' bathroom slowly opened up just far enough for Rhonda to poke her head out and watch Stinky walk back to the cafeteria.


	15. Words Unsaid

**Hearts of Gold**

15\. Words Unsaid

As the last bell rang on Friday, the halls of P.S. 118 seemed to erupt into joyful chaos. Papers flew everywhere. Almost everyone was cheering and talking loudly about their plans for the nine day vacation. Thankfully Arnold had experience dealing with wild hordes of loud, obnoxious creatures and managed to keep Helga and himself from getting trampled to death.

They walked out calmly, hand in hand, enjoying the crisp fall air. Fall indeed, Helga thought, as she snickered at the sight of two or three kids who ran out too quickly and slipped on the thin layer of frost on the steps.

"Man, what a bunch of bozos."

"It did snow a little early this year," Arnold said with a shrug, stopping to help Eugene back to his feet.

"Thanks, Arnold! You're a real pal!" Eugene walked off more carefully this time, only to slip and fall again just as he reached his bike. "I'm okay!"

Arnold rolled his eyes. "I'm sure it'll be gone in time for Thanksgiving." Once they got on the bus, Arnold couldn't help but ask her again. "Are you excited?"

Helga sighed. "Yes, Arnold. I am excited. Just like I was excited yesterday." She casually reached into her dress then and pulled out her locket. She grimaced at the sight of it. After dropping it in the bathroom earlier that day, a piece of glass had fallen out and was nowhere to be found. The new scuff on the back didn't help her mood either. "By the way, am I going to have to dress up in some goofy costume and watch a bunch of fireworks on the roof?"

Arnold rubbed the back of his neck then. It was something that had been puzzling him too. "Actually, my grandma has been pretty normal about Thanksgiving this year. It's really surprising." He glanced over at her locket, noting how damaged it was.

"I just hope it's normal." She looked at him and smirked as she put the locket away. "Maybe if it's warm enough we can all go outside and throw your head around instead."

Arnold rolled his eyes. "Very funny, Helga."

Without skipping a beat, she leaned toward him and laid her head on his shoulder, slipped her arm under his, and reached up to take his hand and clasp their fingers together."You know I kid, right?"

Arnold smiled, tilting his head to look down at her. He hoped moments like these could last forever. How had he gone so long without them? He squeezed her hand gently, stroking his thumb along the side of her finger. "I know. But it is still nice of you to let me know."

She smirked as she reached up with her free hand to rub his arm. "I just had to make sure. I don't want you getting any wrong ideas." She sighed with contentment, closing her eyes as she practically hugged his arm now. "Hey, Arnold?"

"Yes, Helga?"

"I love you..."

Arnold blinked, opened his mouth and said...nothing. No words could come out. Helga seemed to slowly freeze as she waited for him to say something, anything.

"...Uhhh...I _love_ you, Arnold...?"

"I..."

"Yes...? You..."

Arnold swallowed hard. "I, um... Thank you...?"

He felt a brief jolt, as if she'd just been electrocuted or something, and then she seemed to deflate against him. She stopped hugging his arm, and her hand fell limp in his. Arnold winced. His heart hurt for her.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Helga, I just-"

"Don't," she snapped. "You said enough." Helga closed her eyes and did her best to hide her scowl. It wasn't working. Behind the scowl, however, was disappointment. She should have known better. She may as well be in that crow's nest all over again.

"No, listen..." Arnold squeezed her hand once more. "It's... I know what you wanted me to say, and believe it or not I want to say it too."

"Sure you do," she sighed.

"I mean it, Helga. It's not about whether or not I want to say it. It's...whether or not I can. I don't know how to explain it, I just... I want it to be right, you know?"

Helga scoffed, pulling her hand away from his now. "So what, it wasn't right when I said it? Is that what you're saying, bucko?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying. You were ready to say it to me. I just... I want to be ready. I want it to be special. You deserve the best I can give." Arnold lifted his arm up and wrapped it around her, hugging her against him. "Besides, you know me. It's easier to _show_ you how I feel. Now tell me, do you like what I've shown you so far?"

Helga paused. She wanted to stay angry at him. She wanted to scowl and pout and ignore him. But she couldn't stay cold and bitter after that, and her smile slowly started to return to her. "Yeah, I guess so..." She lifted her head a little to glance up at him. "I just wanted to hear it, that's all." She closed her eyes as she laid her head on his shoulder once more.

Arnold winced again. As much as he was able to lift her spirits, he knew his job wasn't done. He sighed quietly and turned to kiss her head, rubbing her shoulder to soothe her as much as he could. Not knowing what else to say on this subject, he decided to try and get her mind off it for now.

"How's your sister doing?"

Helga took a deep breath and let it out with a little shrug. "Better. She's pretty sure she got the job. Still can't believe she's fully licensed to be a full on cosmetologist. Not just a hairdresser or whatever, you know?"

"Well, from what you've told me, it doesn't sound too surprising. She worked really hard for a long time."

"Well yeah, but like... I just can't believe she didn't do anything with it. She tried so many things, you'd think she would have tried the one thing she actually _wanted_ to do when she was a kid." Helga crossed her arms as she thought about it, trying to figure it out.

"Does your dad ever encourage you with what _you_ want to do?"

"Good point," Helga scoffed. "Frankly I don't even _know_ what I want to do. I just hope you'll stay with me so I'm not alone, whatever does happen."

"Of course I will." Arnold kissed her head again, which only made her smile more. "And whatever you wind up doing, I'm sure you'll be great."

"Really...?" Helga asked as she looked up at him again.

"Really. I have faith in you."

Helga took in a deep breath at that, smiling widely. It wasn't what she was hoping to hear, but to know that he had faith her like that, when so many others didn't, still truly meant the world to her. "You know what? I don't care. I freaking love you, Arnold." She turned into his embrace to wrap her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. "You better say it soon..."

Arnold was relieved, glad that he could finally make her happy again. He gently rubbed her shoulder as he gave her a warm smile of his own. "Whatever you say, Helga."

* * *

Helga was not happy. If she were Peapod Kid she might say she was terribly, terribly annoyed.

Of course Bob and Miriam didn't care that Olga wasn't the freaking President or some big famous movie star or whatever. It turned out they were more than happy to dote on her for landing a job at Deb Designs. And of course, even though Olga had been working there for a few days, that didn't stop Bob and Miriam from showering her with praise every time she walked in the door.

All she wanted to do was enjoy the last soft pretzel that Bob hadn't gotten to, maybe read her vampire book with some peace and quiet, but sure enough everyone had to file into the break room and ruin her mood. Unable to take it any longer, Helga snapped her book shut, tossed what was left of her pretzel in the trash just to spite her idiot father and started to walk out.

"Hey, hey, hey! Was that the last pretzel!?"

Helga looked at him with a wicked grin and narrow eyes. "Why yes, father. It was. You weren't saving it or anything, were you?" she snarled through her teeth.

"That's it! Go to your room, little lady! I'm sick of you and your attitude!" Bob pointed out the door as Miriam sighed and shook her head. Not saying anything.

Helga laughed sardonically. "Go to my room. Got it." She rolled her eyes as she walked out of the break room and to her room. Which she was already planning to do. She stepped over a small pile of dirty clothes and an old potato chip bag with a handful of stale crumbs in the bottom and then collapsed onto her bed. She didn't mind that it was full of blankets and sheets and even an old sweater she stopped wearing and occasionally used as a blanket. She was comfortable.

Setting her book aside, she pulled out her phone and sent a message to her beloved.

 _Helga:_ miss you

 _Arnold:_ Everything okay?

 _Helga:_ yeah just annoyed

 _Arnold:_ It'll be ok. You wanna come over for a while?

 _Helga:_ lol I can't. Olga needs to save gas for her jooooob. Parents wont drive me. Bob locked my freakn bike until I clean my room. Too cold and too far to walk.

 _Arnold:_ I'm sorry. *hugs u*

 _Helga:_ its ok. thanks tho *hugs u more*

 _Helga:_ how's your day been?

 _Arnold:_ Good! Dad's been showing me some of the music he used to listen to alot when he was younger and then Mom and I made root beer floats lol

 _Helga:_ uggghhh I want one dang it

 _Arnold:_ Aww I'd give you mine if I could

 _Helga:_ just enjoy it bucko

 _Arnold:_ I wish you were here

Before Helga could type a reply, there was a knock on her door. She sat up with a sigh, looking down and noticing that she'd been holding the locket over her heart.

"Can I come in, Baby Sister?"

Helga rolled her eyes. "I guess so."

Olga walked in with that cheerful spring in her step that she had lost for a while and only just got back. She sat on the bed next to Helga and wrapped her arm around her shoulders. "I really can't thank you enough, Helga. I owe it to you more than anybody."

Helga half smiled. "Greeeaaaat."

"I mean it. I couldn't have done this without you. I want to make it up to you somehow, sooo... I was thinking..."

Helga's eyes widened as she pulled away. "No. No, I'm not doing it."

"Pleeeeeeease..."

"NO! I tried that beauty crap _once_ and I hated it. No, no, I didn't hate it. I _loathed_ it, Olga. I refuse. You can't make me. Not no way, not no how."

Olga crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "And who was your beautician last time?"

Helga paused and grimaced, looking away from her sister. She knew she was caught in a trap and she did not care for it very much. "Some girls from school..."

Olga giggled a little and reached over to touch Helga's arm. "Dear Baby Sister, I promise you I am much, much better at my _job_ than they were. We don't have to go any farther than you want to go. Please, Helga, I'm sure everyone will love it."

Everyone...? Helga slowly looked back at her. "What _exactly_ do you have in mind? Do _not_ be coy with me, just freaking spill it."

"Wellll..." A wide grin formed on Olga's face. "I was thinking... Thanksgiving day?"

"...ARE YOU CRAZY!?" Helga jumped up to her feet, pulling on her pigtails.

"Nooo, just hear me out! I just want you to look special!"

"I don't _want_ to look special! I like the way I am, I don't want to change for anybody!"

"Not even for Arnold!?"

"...Arnold...?"

Helga sat back down slowly, staring at Olga now. The thought hadn't crossed her mind. Not since everything that's happened lately, anyway. On one hand she didn't like the idea of changing herself, but on the other hand she couldn't help but be intrigued by the idea of really rocking his world by showing just how good she could look if she put in the extra effort. Or if someone else put in the extra effort for her, in this case. As she started to imagine the look on his face, she slowly gave Olga a telling grin.

Pleased with herself, Olga grinned in return. "He is just going to _love_ you!"

As Olga started talking about ideas, Helga zoned out. Would this really make him love her...? She knew he wasn't the superficial type, but perhaps if he saw how much work she did to look nice for him, he would appreciate the gesture of it. After all, Phoebe did tell her that nice gestures could mean a lot to someone like him.

As she thought about the various things she could have done in such an upscale salon as Deb Design, a thought occurred to her that dimmed her enthusiastic glow somewhat. "I can't believe I'm saying this, Olga, but... I'm in. I just have one question."

Olga tilted her head. "What is it, Baby Sister?"

"So, you'll probably want to do my hair, and my nails..."

"Absolutely!"

"And I'm guessing you want to do makeup too? I mean, I'd prefer if you didn't go crazy, but you do want to give that a shot, right?"

"We don't have to go crazy with it, Helga. Sometimes a subtle approach works nice too. You're still young, so I wouldn't go crazy anyway." As Helga clasped her hands and rolled her thumbs, looking down at her feet, Olga put her hand on her back. "That's not your question is it?"

Helga shook her head. "I'm just... I'm sensitive about it, that's all..."

"You can tell me, Baby Sister."

Helga opened her mouth a couple times, but was suddenly too shy to say it. So she held her breath and reached up to trace along her brow line.

Olga held her free hand to her heart at that. "Oh, Helga..." She took a deep breath to try and think of how to respond to that. She knew it was probably a delicate subject. After all, she used to have that problem herself. She never told him, but she hated when her father showed off the photo from her spelling bee victory. Not that she hated her appearance necessarily, but she hated to be reminded of how often she was teased.

"You know, Helga, mine started to go away when I was about your age. I just kept plucking it, and it stopped growing back so much."

Helga rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I don't think I could do _that_ again. I tried it once. It hurts too much..."

"There are other ways to take care of that, you know. You could try it once, and if you don't like it, you don't have to do it again. You can let nature take you the rest of the way."

"I don't know..." Helga sighed.

"You don't have to do it if you don't want to. And you don't have to decide right now, either. We still have a couple days. Okay?"

"True..." Helga took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'll think about it. And, thanks. Believe it or not, I actually... I'm glad you didn't forget about me, now that you're all successful and stuff again."

Olga took Helga in a warm embrace, hugging her tight. Helga was quite thankful that it wasn't one of her usual back-breaking hugs this time and eventually hugged her back. "You're welcome, Baby Sister. I know I forgot about you a lot before, but I'm trying to make it up to you. And I promise, this is going to be fun fun fun! Okay!?"

There's the annoyingly cheerful princess. "Sure. Great. I... I can't wait, Olga."

When Olga finally left her alone, she fell back on her bed and stared at the ceiling, reaching up to stroke the hair that linked her eyebrows once again. Curious to find out just what the old Football Head really would think, she grabbed her phone again and finally texted him back.

 _Helga:_ question... what would u think if I tried to make myself prettier?

 _Helga:_ helloooooo

 _Helga:_ where the heck are u!

 _Arnold:_ Sorry! I'm here

 _Helga:_ criminy did u see what I said?

 _Arnold:_ Well I think you look wonderful just the way you are but if you're not happy about something I guess I would support you

 _Helga:_ really?

 _Arnold:_ I want you to be happy more than anything so yeah really lol

 _Helga:_ *hugs u soooo tight* thank you Arnold

* * *

Thanksgiving arrived, and as everyone else in the house worked on preparing the massive dinner, Arnold was up in his room with his dad, trying to make a very important decision.

"Green tie, or red tie?" Arnold asked as he held up both of them over the front of his white button down shirt. Miles reached up to stroke his chin, looking from one to the other with narrow eyes.

"The green looks really nice on him, but, it's not really a fall color. Too cold. More of a winter or spring," Miles said quietly to himself. Much to Arnold's confusion. "I'd go with the red," he said to Arnold this time.

"That's what I was thinking." Arnold put the green tie away and stood in front of the mirror in his closet as he attempted to put it on himself. After three or four tries he groaned and threw it around his neck like a scarf in frustration. He turned around to face his father with a grimace. "How about this? You think this looks nice?"

Miles laughed and nodded his head. "Just fabulous, Arnold. But what, may I ask, were you _trying_ to do? Don't tell me Grandpa never showed you how to tie a tie."

"He showed me the basic one but I'm trying to do a real Windsor knot like Grandpa does. I never figured it out and I just want to get it right on my own this time."

Miles laughed and shook his head. "Hand me that green tie. We're going to do this _together_ , okay?"

Arnold sighed and handed him the green tie that he already put away. He put it around his own neck. "Now first of all, you want the wide end hanging down on your right side. The tip should be about... in your case it should hang down around your belly button. Got that?"

"Yup."

"Now, you really only want to be moving the wide end around. The skinny end should just be still for the most part. Now, cross the ends and bring the wide end up through like so."

Arnold carefully watched his father in the mirror, trying to mimic his gestures as closely as possible. "Okay..."

"Now, you see where they're crossed? We're going to build a triangle right around here, okay? Keep that triangle in mind as you go. So, right now we're going to bring the wide end back down and behind the skinny end."

"Right. Okay... This is usually where I mess up."

"Don't worry, kid. I'll steer you right. Just keep visualizing that triangle. Now you see that loop we just made?" Miles gestured with his fingers, careful not to lose his grip on the tie as he did so.

"Yeah...?"

"We're going to do basically the same thing on the other side now. Like so," Miles said as he demonstrated slowly, making sure Arnold was watching. Arnold carefully did as instructed.

"Almost there. Now we wrap it around front, and make sure you have the point on the bottom nice and tight. You see the triangle now?"

"I think I'm getting it!" Arnold said excitedly.

"Yup! The loop we just made in front? Bring that wide end down through and carefully slide the knot up." Miles stopped at this point to watch Arnold as he followed this final direction on his own.

"I did it!" Arnold threw his fist into the air to celebrate. "Thanks, Dad! You're the best!"

"I was just copying you," Miles said with a wink. Arnold smirked and rolled his eyes as he put on his jacket, finishing the ensemble.

"How do I look?"

"Pretty snazzy, if I do say so myself." Miles pulled the green tie off and dropped it on Arnold's head. "See you downstairs. I still need to-"

"MILES SHORTMAN! How are you not ready yet!?" Stella asked as she walked into Arnold's room in a black dress and a thin, loose duster cardigan with an autumn floral pattern. Miles winced, expecting a smack in the arm, but her frustration immediately gave way to gasps of excitement when she saw her boy all dressed up. "Oh, honey, you look so grown up!" Stella walked up to Arnold to look him over as he quickly pulled the green tie off his head and tossed it into his closet.

"Uh... Thanks, Mom. Heheh..." He said suddenly very shy. "Dad was just helping me with my tie is all. He showed me how to tie a real Windsor knot!"

"Oh did he now?" Stella gave Miles the side eye, but her smile never left. Whatever annoyance she had left her as she realized what was so important. "Well, I'm glad you two got to bond a little." She leaned over to Miles and kissed his cheek before the three of them walked down from Arnold's room.

"See, I had a good reason," Miles said as he lifted the stairs up into the ceiling. Besides I can get dressed real quick once I get around to it."

Stella rolled her eyes at him. "Sure." She touched Arnold's shoulder then. "You go on downstairs, okay? Let your grandmother and Mr. Hyunh know that I'll be back down in just a minute."

"Okay! See you guys soon," Arnold went downstairs as they retreated to their room. As he started toward the kitchen, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out to check it out. He was hoping it was Helga with an update on her whereabouts, but was surprised to find it was someone else.

 _Gerald:_ how things going

 _Arnold_ : Not bad. How bout you?

 _Gerald:_ parents being a pain

 _Gerald:_ siblings too

 _Arnold:_ Sorry to hear that. Can't talk now though sorry

 _Gerald:_ no prob man

Arnold sighed as he put his phone away and walked into the kitchen where Mr. Hyunh was helping his grandma in his mother's place. "Hey guys. Mom said she'll be back real shortly."

"I hope so!" Mr. Hyunh said with considerable agitation. "I'm not your mother! This is not my job! I do not work here!"

Arnold rolled his eyes as he stepped back out of the way so Mr. Hyunh could walk out to start setting the table in the dining room, carrying quite the load of food out on his arms. Arnold was impressed even though he knew that Mr. Hyunh had plenty of restaurant experience.

"Need any help, Grandma?" Arnold asked as he kept his distance, still trying to stay out of the way.

"Nope! We're just about done in here, Kimba!"

"Oh. Okay." Arnold shuffled his feet and walked in a little closer. "Hey, um... I was wondering something..."

"What's the matter, Scout?" his grandma asked as she glanced over at him.

"I was just wondering... You never really wanted a normal Thanksgiving before, so..."

Arnold's grandma paused and turned around to look at him. "Well, Arnold... When you lose someone you love, it gets a little harder to do the _things_ you love. Especially when you're so used to doing them together."

Arnold looked into her eyes and it finally dawned on him. He realized that there was more to his grandma's madness than he previously believed, and began to wonder what else he didn't know about her. She smiled at him and patted him on the shoulder. "Now don't you go running off with thoughts like _those_ rattling around your head. Tell me about you and Eleanor. You get her a Christmas present yet?" A big smirk grew on her face as she asked.

Arnold's eyes widened. "Oh crap..." With all the time they spent worrying about Thanksgiving and health class and the scare they had with his parents, he hadn't really thought about it.

"You still have time. Just remember to let _your heart_ lead the way," she said with a big knowing smile.

Arnold nodded slowly as he tried to think of something, anything he could possibly give Helga, but he kept coming up blank. Before he could say anything else, Mr. Hyunh burst back into the room. "I am going to kill Oskar!"

"Uh...why?" Arnold asked curiously. Not that he didn't think Mr. Hyunh had a good reason. Everyone has wanted to kill Oskar at one point or another.

"He was supposed to let us use his kitchen!"

With Mr. Hyunh running around like crazy, Arnold started to back out of the kitchen. As his parents came back downstairs, he gasped at the sound of the doorbell. Miles and Stella both smiled widely and followed him as he ran to the front door.

He opened the door was greeted by the sight of Bob, Miriam, and Olga in their Thanksgiving best. Hands were shaken. Stella took pies from Miriam and Olga, sure to tell them that they didn't need to bring anything. Arnold did his best to be polite but he was too busy trying to see past them to care beyond basic introductions. When they finally walked inside and closed the door, Helga finally stepped out from behind them.

Arnold gasped.

She was rubbing her arm, keeping her eyes low as she entered. Clearly she was shy but she didn't need to be. She stood before him holding her old grey jacket in one arm, and was dressed in a bright pink, lace draped dress with longs sleeves and a skirt that went down a little past her knees. Her hair, though still accessorized with her trademark pink bow, was no longer straight and pigtailed but hung down in shimmering waves, parted to the side in a way that reminded him of her Cecile disguise. Only she wasn't hiding behind it anymore. She was wearing a little makeup, applied subtly to let her keep a mostly natural look that one might not notice unless they were as enraptured as Arnold was, but it was her. It was really her.

"Hey..."

Arnold took a step closer to her. "Hi, Helga..." She finally looked up into his eyes, and they stared at each other silently for what felt like eternity, looking into each other's eyes so long that for a moment the world seemed to disappear around them. Neither of them noticed the warm looks given to them by his parents, or her sister, as they

"Is it that bad?" Helga asked quietly. Arnold tilted his head.

"Is what that bad? You look...amazing..."

Helga gulped. "I mean..." She glanced upward, and Arnold tried to follow her gaze but couldn't tell what she meant at first. Her bow? Her hair? Her eyebrows? It took him a moment before he realized it: her _eyebrows_.

Arnold's expression softened as he looked into her eyes once more. "Is _that_ what you meant the other day?"

Helga nodded and looked away again. "I wasn't sure at first, but... I wanted to look good for you, and... Besides, who gives mother nature the right to decide how I look anyway, right?" She sighed and shrugged. "I should have known better..."

Arnold smiled and reached up to touch her cheek. "Oh, Helga... First of all, you are beautiful. I think you and Olga did a great job, especially since I didn't notice at first. That's a good sign, I think."

Helga's eyes widened as she met his gaze again. "Really?"

"Second of all... You were _always_ beautiful. I appreciate that you wanted to look nice for me, Helga, but you don't need to change. Not if you don't want to. You're beautiful just the way you are, and whether you decide to stick it to mother nature or not, I'm always going to think you're beautiful because you're always going to be _you_. Okay?"

Helga gave him a big, warm smile and nodded as her face turned red. "Okay... By the way, you're not looking too bad yourself, stud."

Arnold gave her that bright, goofy grin of his and she rolled her eyes. "Let's go eat before my dad yells for us to hurry up again."

Arnold blinked. "He yelled?" He quickly took her jacket to hang it for her, wondering for only a second how he could have missed that, but when he turned to see her again it became clear. As far as he was concerned, she was the whole world.

Helga took a deep breath as she stared toward the dining room. She didn't have to say how nervous she was for Arnold to know just what she was thinking. He took her hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly.

"It's okay. I'm here."

Helga nodded and whispered, "I love you, Arnold..."

Together they made their way into the dining room, hand in hand, ready to face whatever it was they were about to walk into.

* * *

The Shortmans watched wide-eyed as the Patakis went to town on their dinner. They stuffed their faces with mashed potatoes and stuffing and gravy and other courses like they hadn't eaten in so long they forgot what food was and were excited to rediscover it. Olga was a bit more modest, but for the most part it was clear that they hadn't eaten a real dinner like this in some time. Stella was glad she grabbed the 25 pound turkey instead of the smaller one. They tried making small talk at the start of the dinner, but it was difficult considering their special guests wouldn't stop filling their faces. Thankfully things eventually started to slow down around dessert time.

"So Bob, how's the beeper thing working out?" Ernie asked as he shoved a large chunk of apple pie into his big stupid mouth that Bob did not appreciate. Of course Ernie didn't really care about the beeper business, he was just dying to knock down the massive eyesore that Bob and his family were currently living in.

"We're doing just fine, Potts," Bob growled.

Helga sighed and glanced at Arnold where he sat beside her. Arnold nudged her foot with his, having carefully slipped a shoe off under the table without anyone noticing. He gave her a warm smile as if to remind her that she wasn't alone, and she felt the tension in her chest loosen up. She gave him a little smile in return, silently thanking him for the affection.

"Helga, would you like some strawberry shortcake?" Stella suggested, only for Helga to shake her head.

"No, but thanks though," Helga said quietly. "I, um..."

"Helga's allergic to strawberries, actually," Arnold spoke up. Helga looked at him with surprise.

"Ohhh, I'm sorry dear. Good thing you two remembered!"

"Yeah, about that," Helga said curiously as she raised an eyebrow at him. "How did you know I was allergic to strawberries anyway?"

"Well, at lunch the only thing you've ever offered to give away are those strawberry granola bars you bring sometimes. And they're the first thing you offer to trade, too. I've never seen you eat them, so..." Arnold shrugged. "I just guessed, honestly."

Helga smiled widely at that. "You actually noticed that? Jeez, what a stalker."

Arnold chuckled and gave her a smirk. "You're one to talk, Helga."

"Touché, Arnoldo."

Phil leaned over and looked at Helga. "You know what else you shouldn't eat, little girl?"

Helga and Arnold rolled their eyes and said in unison, "Raspberries."

"...Wow, that was a good guess," said a seriously dumbfounded Phil. Miles couldn't help but burst out laughing at that.

"You should also never try to eat a hornet's nest!" Gertie added. Phil scratched his head at that.

"Hey Milton," Bob said with a mouthful of food. "You and the missus ought to stop by the store some time. We've got the latest and greatest communications technology that money can buy!"

While Helga stifled a groan of frustration, Miles chewed and swallowed slowly to give himself an extra second or two to figure out the most tactful way to respond to that. "Um, my name's Miles actually. And we're pretty happy with the cell phones we have now. We still have some catching up to do as it is," he chuckled nervously.

"I was _talking_ about _beepers_. You know, as in _Big Bob's Beepers_!?" Bob growled.

Helga snickered at that, amused that he couldn't even sell beepers to people who've literally been sleeping under a rock for a decade. "Just take the fail, sheesh."

"Watch it, little lady. The adults are talking business, not your grades," Bob snarled.

Helga tensed up and almost leapt from her chair, eager to shout him down in front of everyone, but before she could, Arnold reached over and gently took her hand. He opened his mouth to say something, however this time even he wasn't fast enough to jump to her defense.

"She seems to be doing great to me," Stella said calmly as she cut into a slice of her strawberry shortcake. "She's actually been helping Arnold with _his_ homework. Isn't that right, dear?"

Arnold blushed a little at first, not wanting to be reminded of that disaster, but he understood what his mom was doing and smiled. "Oh yeah, she's been a big help. I wouldn't have passed that last exam without her."

"Well that is just lovely! Isn't that lovely, dear?" Miriam said as she hoped to calm her husband's nerves and hopefully relieve any tension that he might have put in the air.

Helga looked at Arnold, then at Stella, dumbfounded by how quickly they stepped in to defend her. Helga silently mouthed a "thank you" to Stella, who gave her a subtle nod and a wink.

"By the way, Helga, I'm sorry I didn't say anything earlier but you look absolutely wonderful," Stella said with a grin.

"I'll say," Miles added. "Bet you have to fight the other boys off all the time."

Helga smirked. "Usually I have to catch them first, but... Arnold's all I need." She glanced over at him as she felt herself blushing, curious to see if he was making that big dorky grin of his. He was. "Oh, and thanks. For the compliments I mean. Honestly, I have to thank Olga for helping me out."

Olga smiled brightly at that. Helga hadn't realized it before then but Olga was being awfully quiet, and she didn't understand why. "Well, Baby Sister, you were the perfect client to work with."

"You are hairdresser?" Mr. Hyunh asked curiously.

"Vâng thưa ngài!" Olga replied cheerfully while everyone turned to look at her like she just sprouted wings.

 _Of course the princess can speak Vietnamese,_ Helga thought.

"Gesundheit!" Phil interrupted. "Pookie, pass over an extra napkin before the young lady sneezes again!"

"The lady did not sneeze!" Mr. Hyunh snapped at Phil before looking back at Olga. The two of them introduced themselves and started to converse in his native tongue as Phil rolled his eyes.

"Hey Olga," Bob said as he looked at the daughter that wasn't Olga.

"Dad, my name is not Olga. _Her_ name is Olga. Grow a functional brain."

"Watch your attitude, uh...little lady!" he barked. "I was going to ask you how that class is working out, the one you needed me to sign for. And I better not have signed to send them any money."

"What class does he mean, dear?" Miriam asked, completely oblivious of course.

"Health class, Mom," Helga sighed. "I _told you_ it didn't cost anything, and it's going fine. We already had the exam on the really gross stuff," Helga grumbled as she hoped against hope that he wouldn't ask her what that means.

"Gross stuff? What does _that_ mean?" Bob snarled.

"Criminy, how dense can you get? You know, like...babies and junk," Helga said nervously. Before he could say anything else, she looked at Arnold's parents and blurted out, "What was Arnold like as a baby?"

Arnold turned the color of ghosts as he looked at Helga and then his parents, desperately shaking his head.

"Oh, he was quite a handful. Always getting into trouble," Miles laughed. "The really crazy story is how he was born."

"A crazy story about Arnold that I haven't heard already? This I _gotta_ hear!" Helga said excitedly. She looked at Arnold with a wicked smirk, ready to soak in his embarrassment, but to her surprise he actually seemed to lighten up.

"It's...actually kind of a cool story," Arnold said as he gave a little shrug.

"Oh yes, indeed!" Gertie said eagerly. "Why, Miles and Stella grew him in a big old pumpkin, right in our backyard!"

Helga blinked as she looked at Arnold's grandma and back at his parents. "That's not it, is it...?"

"Uhhh, nooo..." Miles said with a confused laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.

"We actually had him in San Lorenzo," Stella said with a big smile. "We were living in our own little cabin down there, and unfortunately we weren't near any doctors or anything. So _this one_ and his pal Eduardo basically had to carry me through a very dangerous tropical rainforest to try and get there in time."

Helga stared, fascinated to learn that Arnold was actually born in that place. "So, wait... You had Arnold in the middle of the freaking jungle!?"

"Oh, it gets cooler than that," Miles chipped in. "Tell her about the volcano!"

"VOLCANO!?"

Stella nodded. "Literally while we were on our way to find help, the mountaintop nearby just...burst open, and-"

"And liquid fire began to pour down through the hills! The wildlife stormed all around us, desperate to escape the coming apocalypse as it ripped through the trees and spread all around us! There we faced certain doom, and-"

"Ahem," Stella said sharply as she nudged Miles with her elbow. Arnold was amused to discover that his grandpa wasn't the only over-the-top storyteller.

"Oh. Sorry, honey. Heheh...carry on."

"As I was _saying_ , lava started flowing down around us, animals were running everywhere, and...well..." She gave Miles a knowing look, not sure how much to say in front of the rest of Helga's family. "Some special friends of ours showed us a safe place to go.

"Some kind of third world hospital?" Bob asked casually.

Stella bristled at that but stayed calm. "No, it was an ancient altar of sorts, from the...indigenous people of the area. But it was on higher ground, and we were surrounded so we didn't have much choice. And then..."

Miles put his arm around Stella's shoulders as they gave each other warm, loving smiles, their eyes sparkling. "We were given the greatest gift in the world." Miles looked around the table as everyone else stared in awe, especially Helga. "The craziest thing was, when he finally arrived...all of nature seemed to stop. The volcano, the animals, everything."

"What about all the lava?" Helga asked, no longer curious for the sake of teasing Arnold but genuinely fascinated and moved by the tale.

"It stopped flowing on its own, and just...cooled down. Even the fires calmed down and started to go out," Stella said with a shrug.

Helga turned and stared at her beloved, awestruck by what truly sounded like some kind of epic myth, the kind you might have heard about on the History channel before they became obsessed with World War II, aliens building pyramids, and reality shows about pawn shops. It was like something the ancient poets and orators would have told to flocks of people of all shapes and sizes and classes, filling them with wonder.

"Ha! What a bunch of baloney," Bob laughed sardonically as he shook his head and took another big slice of pumpkin pie.

"Dad!" Helga cried out. She should have known he'd make a fool of himself like that.

"Now, Bob, that's not very polite. I'm sure they have no reason to just spin a yarn like that..." Miriam hoped Bob would take back his rude comment, but he didn't. He just shrugged and kept eating.

Helga scowled as she sunk in her chair, looking at her plate...and then a thought occurred to her, the scowl she wore fading away as she was overcome with newfound curiosity about a subject that never really interested her before. "Hey, Mom?"

"Yes, dear...?" Miriam wasn't sure what Helga could possibly have to ask her.

"What was it like when I was born?"

It took Miriam more strength than she had not to gasp and widen her eyes. She smiled and swallowed hard, giving her a little shrug before looking down at her plate, picking at stuffing with her fork. "Oh, I'm afraid it was just a...routine sort of thing, you know..."

Bob's chewing slowed as he looked at his wife, knowing right away just how nervous she was as well as the reason why. As usual, he wanted to comfort her but he hadn't the slightest clue how. So he didn't.

"Okay, so... are there _any_ stories about when I was a ba-"

"Hey, hey! Your mother _told you_ it was just a routine deal, nothing special, now drop it!"

Helga let out a little gasp, not expecting the interruption or the amount of rage he just let loose. She knew he'd be embarrassing, but she didn't think he would horrify anybody with his temper. And yet that's not what stung the most.

She was nothing special.

Helga shoved her chair back and looked at Stella. "May I be excused for a moment?"

Stella looked back and forth between Bob, who was red in the face and quietly seething as he stared down at his pie and just kept shoveling it in his face, and Miles, who glared at him as he balled his hands into fists, doing everything he could to stay calm so he didn't leap across the table and throttle the man. She looked at Helga and gave her a sad smile, the best she could manage at the time. "Um, sure sweetie..."

As Olga started to try and alleviate all the tension in the room, something Miriam was far too mortified to do herself, Arnold touched Helga's arm before she could walk away. He whispered, "Are you alright? Do you want me to go with you?"

Helga simply shook her head and whispered back, "I'll be fine. I just need a little air, that's all. I won't be long."

Arnold nodded, looking into her eyes and wishing he could bring back the light he saw in them earlier. "Okay..." He watched as she walked out of the room and...up the stairs?

* * *

Helga walked up onto the roof, immediately regretting her decision as a gentle breeze brought the full brunt of the cold evening air against her. She almost turned around to go back downstairs, but a fiery glow caught her eye. There on the roof was a makeshift fire pit of sorts, a third of an old metal barrel with some stones and bricks around it. Sitting in front of the fire in an outdoor folding chair was a guy with frizzy salt and pepper hair, a beaked nose, and hauntingly sad eyes.

"Hey," she said as she walked up to the fire pit, eager for some warmth. "What are you doing up here? There's a whole Thanksgiving going on downstairs."

Vincent looked up at the rather lovely young girl, whom he did not recognize but knew must be Arnold's special friend Helga. "Yeah, I know. You're Helga, aren't you?"

She nodded, wrapping her arms around herself to rub her shoulders. "Yup. Vincent?"

He nodded too, giving her a warm smile. "Nice to meet you, Helga."

"You didn't answer my question," she asked looking at him curiously. "What are you doing up here? It's _freezing_ out here and there's a _ton_ of food. Are you crazy?"

Vincent took a deep breath, holding his hands up over the fire. "I suppose I am a little crazy. But if you ask me, I think most people are."

Something about his words struck a chord in her. Sensing that he had something in common with her, she took a shot in the dark. "Do you miss them? Your family?"

Vincent laughed and sighed, staring at the fire. "Every day. Only I don't think they miss me."

Helga gulped as she stared at him, feeling waves of profound sadness coming from him. "Why?"

The poor man shrugged. "They don't want me."

Helga thought about how everyone at school knew him. How everyone was convinced he was a crazy, psychopathic freak. Herself included. Sure, it was weird how he had a strange friendship thing with a whole bunch of pigeons, but he was clearly nothing like the stereotype that they all so easily bought into. He was a sad, poor man with no family, aching for love and acceptance. From what she knew about him before, she was certain he must have been homeless before the Shortmans decided to take him in.

"Now... I think a better question is, what are _you_ doing up here?"

Helga scoffed and grimaced as she turned away from him to look into the fire, holding her hands over it as well now. "I just needed some fresh air. My dad is a freaking jerk, that's all. Oh, and my mom doesn't have enough of a spine to do anything about it."

Vincent nodded slowly, understanding that it must be a delicate situation. "Well, they're still your family. And I'm sure they're still down there waiting for you."

"Maybe..." She sighed and closed her eyes. "More importantly, Arnold's still down there waiting for me..."

Vincent smiled at that. He knew Arnold to be an incredibly kind boy, and it seemed that beneath a rougher exterior this girl had a big heart of her own, though perhaps a more fragile one. "I tell you what, Helga... If I go down there and have a little something to eat, will you come with me?"

Helga slowly looked over at him. She didn't want to stay up there much longer anyway, and she certainly didn't want to be another reason for this poor guy to miss another Thanksgiving. So there was really only one answer she could give him.

* * *

Arnold sat hunched over his plate, his head propped up on his arm, as Olga and his mom talked more about San Lorenzo and the culture there. He perked up a bit when she told her about how they fell under the sleeping sickness that had afflicted the Green Eyes.

"Oh goodness, that sounds horrible!" Olga said with a gasp.

"Say, where is that place anyway? Somewhere near China or something?" Ernie asked loudly as he used a tooth pick to clean his ear.

"Quiet! Let her tell the story!" Mr. Hyunh yelled at him. Ernie grumbled quietly as Stella continued.

"Anyway, if it wasn't for Arnold and Helga, we wouldn't be here today," Stella said with a smile. "They're the ones who made this whole family reunion of ours possible."

Arnold beamed at that. "Honestly, I have to give Helga the credit for that. After all," he said as he turned to look Bob right in the eye, "she really is special. More than anyone else I know."

Bob rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. It didn't matter, though. Arnold started to think back over the years he had with her, and laughed a little. "Actually, that's not even our first family reunion. When we were in fourth grade, we had to work together to find our baby in the park!"

Phil did a spit-take at that, right into Ernie's face. "Hey, watch it Gramps!"

"It's not my fault you're sitting on so many books!"

While they argued, Stella chuckled as she looked at Arnold curiously. "What do you mean, honey? Surely it wasn't a _real_ baby...?" Of course she knew it wasn't. Right? Right... Of course it wasn't a real baby...

"Oh, no! It was an egg, actually. For a school project," he laughed.

"Well that sounds like fun!" Miles chimed in as he and Stella laughed along with him.

"It sound like she has knack for family reunions!" Mr. Hyunh added cheerfully.

"Yeah, I guess she-..." Arnold stopped laughing immediately, staring down the table at him. "Wait... What do you mean?" Arnold felt his heart begin to race as Mr. Hyunh looked at him with confusion.

"Silly Arnold! She help you with Christmas, remember?"

 _Don't try to make sense out of it, Arnold. A miracle's a miracle, and that's all there is to it. Maybe you got a... Christmas Angel looking out for you or something."_

 _A Christmas Angel... Yeah. Maybe..._

Arnold gasped. He felt tears well up in his eyes as he held a trembling hand over his mouth. Stella's expression of curiosity dimmed and she started to feel worried. "Arnold? What's wrong?"

Arnold swallowed the lump in his throat. "I, um... I h-have to... I'll b-be right back, I... I just have to go to the...to the bathroom is all..." He got up and quickly went out into the hallway. Phil sighed and shook his head.

"I tried to warn him about those raspberries..."

Gertie reached over to touch his arm, leaning over to whisper, "I don't think it's raspberries, Phil..." He looked at her curiously, puzzled as to what that could mean, and then stared in the direction Arnold went off to. His curious gaze wasn't broken even when Helga came back downstairs and joined everyone at the table again, with Vincent in tow.

"Look who I found," Helga said toward Arnold's parents as Vincent sat in the only empty chair left at the table, between Arnold's parents and his grandparents. When Helga sat down, she tilted her head and looked at Stella. "Where's Arnold?"

* * *

Arnold turned on the faucet and paced back and forth in the bathroom, hyperventilating as tears rolled down his face. But he smiled. He smiled widely, not knowing what to do with his hands. He kept running them through his hair, smacking his forehead, wiping his face, holding his fist in front of his mouth like he was about to cough into it. He stopped in front of the mirror and shook his head, seeming to laugh and sob at the same time.

He swallowed hard as his mind ran with lightning speed, his thoughts becoming a chaotic jumble that he tried to piece together only to find himself going back to one thought over and over again: she was the real angel all along. His Christmas angel. His _guardian_ angel.

And then a thought occurred to him: she didn't want him to know. Which must have meant she didn't want _anyone_ to know. He realized that not only must Mr. Hyunh's daughter have told him about Helga, but now everyone at the table was wondering what his comments meant or already aware of it. His parents weren't there, but his grandparents were. Quickly he pulled his phone out and quickly texted his mom one thing: "dont tell Helga about what mr Huynh said its importat"

He put his phone away, hoping that would be enough. He took a deep breath and leaned into the sink, gently splashing his face with water. As he grabbed a towel to dry himself off, a knock on the door made him jump. "I uh, I'm almost done!" He called out.

"You okay in there, Short Man?"

Arnold blinked at that. Did his grandpa need to get in? "Yeah, I'm alright. I just...should have listened to you about those raspberries! Are you in a hurry?"

There was a pause before he answered. "Well, I just thought I'd let you know Helga's back down here and I guess we're going to start wrapping things up. We just have to talk about what we're thankful for. Not sure why we didn't do that before, but oh well."

Arnold opened the door and looked up at his grandpa, who gave him a suspicious expression. "Raspberries, eh?"

"Um... Yeah, Grandpa. Just...raspberries..." Arnold gulped, but he couldn't keep from smiling. His grandpa noticed, but knew they didn't have time to talk at the moment. So he gave Arnold a shrug and walked back to the dining room with him.

As Arnold walked into the room, he was already looking to where Helga sat waiting for him, watching for him as well. She gave him a warm smile across the room as he walked over, and he lit up at the sight. He swallowed hard as he got back to his chair and sat down, taking a deep breath before looking over at her.

"You feeling okay?" Helga asked quietly, reaching over to touch his hand.

Arnold nodded, simply beaming as he looked at her and put his other hand against hers. "I'm...feeling incredible, actually. Thank you for asking, though."

Helga smirked and raised an eyebrow, wondering what's got him so excited and weird. "You bugging out on me, Football Head?"

He laughed and shook his head. "No, no, I just... You're always looking out for me, and... I just want you to know that it really means a lot to me."

She blinked at him, blushing slightly as she tilted her head. "Um... You're welcome, I guess...?"

They and everyone else were soon interrupted by the sound of Stella clinking her glass with a spoon. "Attention everyone! I know you're all probably feeling really full and tired and want to just...go home and relax. But we have one more item on the agenda: it's for us to go around the room and share what we're thankful for. Would anyone like to start?"

And so it began about as Arnold would have expected, with Ernie and Mr. Hyunh arguing who gets to go first. Phil had to decide for them, much to his annoyance, and Mr. Hyunh won the battle. He was proud to say that he was thankful for having a wonderful job, a great home full of (mostly) wonderful people, and for his daughter Mai. Ernie was next, thankful that Lola was back in town for the holidays. And for the tasty dinner.

Miriam wanted to tell everyone how thankful she was to finally have the courage to cut back on indulging her vices, but she hadn't the courage to say so. Instead she was thankful for having such a lovely evening with her family. Olga began with the same, sure to mention Helga by name however, and went on to say how thankful she was for having made new friends in Miles and Stella. She also hoped that one day she could meet Mr. Hyunh's daughter and perhaps make another new friend.

Bob, who was rather flustered, simply said that he was thankful for his family, his business, and for the dinner he was invited to enjoy.

Vincent looked around, expecting someone else to say something. He looked at Miles, who put a hand on his shoulder and nodded for him to go ahead. He mentioned that for a long time he felt lonely and unwanted, and as much as he missed his old family, he didn't feel lonely and unwanted anymore. And so, he was most thankful that he had a new family, one who appreciated him for who he was. He wiped his eyes as Miles pat him on the shoulder, and then he glanced at Helga as he thanked "a new friend" for helping him realize that.

Miles took a deep breath. "When we started to get sick, we didn't know if we'd ever come back. Do I wish we had come back sooner? ...Yeah. But the important thing is that _we did_ come back. So, I'm thankful that...we're here. Here to enjoy my parents' company for a while longer. Here to watch our son grow up. I'm thankful that I get to meet the incredible man that I know he'll grow up to be. I can't wait."

Arnold smiled widely at that, his eyes already misty again as Helga rubbed his hand in soft, soothing motions back and forth.

Stella took Miles's hand as she began. "I'm thankful for this. For being here with all of you. For being here with my Miles, and with Phil and Gertie, and with my dear Arnold. I'm thankful that I'm here to watch him grow, and learn, and become someone that I'll be proud to know. And as painful as it is to know how long he was without us..." Stella looked at Helga and gave her a warm smile. "I'm thankful that he wasn't alone. And I have a feeling he never will be."

Helga took a deep breath to keep her composure at that. After a pause, Phil cleared his throat and began. "Boy, I feel bad for the guy who has to follow _that_!" he said with a laugh, reaching up to rub the back of his head. "I'm thankful for Arnold, obviously. Who isn't? The boy's a saint! And I'm thankful for my gal Pookie for keeping me on my toes and helping me through the occasional food poisoning. And for...staying with me through thick and thin. I couldn't have done it without her." He put his arm around her and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "And...I'm thankful for Miles. And Stella. It was hard, you two being gone so long... But here you are. My boy, and his gal. I'm glad you're back..."

Miles wiped a tear away and swallowed a lump in his throat, smiling as he looked into his father's eyes. "Thanks, Dad."

Phil looked at Gertie then. "Your turn, Pookie."

Gertie looked at him and then over at Arnold and Helga. "Oh, let the kids go first. They're probably dying to say how they feel." She winked at them, making both their faces turn red.

Helga looked at Arnold. "You first," she blurted out.

Arnold had a feeling he would go first anyway, and shrugged. "Well, I guess I should start by saying how thankful I am to have such cool grandparents. You've done so much for me, and I'll never be able to repay you for it. I just know I have to make you proud, and I promise you I will." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm thankful that my parents are back. I missed you guys so much, and... Sometimes I still feel like I'm dreaming this. But it's not a dream. It's a dream come true."

Miles and Stella leaned against each other, with Miles putting his arm around her as they listened with tears in their eyes.

"And it wouldn't have come true if not for you, Helga." Arnold turned to look at her, taking her hand in both of his and looking into her eyes. "I had a hole in my heart for a long time, and I tried so hard to fill it. And then you came, and you filled it for me. You bugged me at first. Even terrorized me," he said with a little laugh as a tear rolled down his face. "But you never gave up on me, either. I didn't know it then, but you have a heart of gold, and there was no one you wanted to give it to but me. So I want you to know that I'll do everything I can to protect it. In other words... Thank you, Helga. Thank you for being the guardian angel I always wanted."

Helga held her hand over her mouth as tears rolled down her face as well. She couldn't help but lean over and embrace him. As she felt his arms wrap around her in return, felt him place a gentle kiss on her cheek, she whispered, "Thank you...my Arnold..."

"You're welcome, my Helga..."

She took a deep, shaky breath as she tried to regain her composure, still smiling widely. When they finally broke their embrace, Helga looked around at all the smiling faces. Her sister was wiping tears of her own, of course. Miles and Stella were clearly moved as well. Phil looked at them with pride.

Helga knew it was her turn, and couldn't keep looking at them. So she looked down at the table in front of her. "I'm not...good at this sort of thing, so... I just want to say, I'm thankful that my family didn't bum me out _too_ much. I'm glad we got to have this together. I know we've got a lot to deal with right now, and that makes us all want to kill each other. But still, we are a family, and I'm pretty sure we do all love each other..." She looked at Miles and Stella then. "And thank you guys for being here. I uh...I know me and Arnold technically found you, but... I'm just saying, it was nice how you guys had my back before."

She swallowed hard then and slowly turned to look at her beloved. Her angel in return. "Thank you, Arnold. You could have given up on me a long time ago, and you probably would have had every right to. But you didn't give up, and I'm a better person because of it. Because of you I want to keep being a better person, so you know that all your time, all your hope, and all of your love...wasn't wasted." She smiled with all her love, feeling more tears roll down as she stared into his soulful green eyes. "Arnold, my soul, you were always in my heart, and...you always will be."

As they embraced once more, Helga summoned as much courage as she could and, for the first time in front of either of their families, she gave him a warm, gentle kiss, lingering only for a moment or two before laying her head on his shoulder.

The world around them disappeared even as the rest of the table muttered quietly amongst themselves. Eventually, however, everyone looked at Gertie. No one was really quite sure what she would say. She stared down at her plate, a gentle smile on her face, as if deeply in thought. Which character would she portray? What holiday would she think it was? Even Arnold and Helga, when they finally came back to Earth, wondered just what was going to happen when she started talking, or just how much of the table she was about to walk on.

"Family," she said quietly. There was a long pause, as everyone waited to see if that was all she was going to say. "That's what I'm thankful for. My family. All here, together... It's something people take for granted, I think. Some people, they don't appreciate family until it's gone. Course, I always knew I was lucky. I just didn't realize how lucky I was, not at first. I think that's one of those things you don't realize until you're older."

Miles, Stella, Phil, and Arnold all stared in shock as she said all this. Arnold had never heard his grandma speak with such clarity, or with such wisdom. He knew she was wise, but this moved him in a way he never expected.

"It wasn't easy for me to stay strong while my kids were gone. Miles my son, and Stella who is like the daughter I always wanted. There were a lot of things I wanted to say, but I didn't have the voice to say them. Many times I couldn't show how I was feeling. I had to make sure their boy grew up as happy as he could be. Honestly I'm thankful that I didn't have to do it alone. I had a lot of help," she said as she touched Phil's hand. And glanced at Helga. "I have something special, and because of those two kids over there, I can feel it again. I'm whole again. Thank you. Thank all of you."

With that, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Soon everyone started to stand up and leave the table, hugging and shaking hands and thanking each other. Even Bob was emotional. Miles, Stella, Phil, and Arnold all gave Gertie a big warm hug, and hugged each other too.

Shortly before the Patakis left, Olga pulled Arnold aside and handed him a folded napkin. He opened it up to find a phone number, and looked up at her a little confused.

"If she needs anything, you call me, Arnold. And give this number to your parents, okay?"

Arnold smiled at that and nodded. "I will."

Arnold stood by the door with his parents, thanking the Patakis for coming as they left, carrying almost all of the leftovers home with them. When Helga walked up to him, she smiled as she saw that he was holding her jacket for her. After carefully helping her slip into it, she turned around to look into his eyes once more.

"I don't want you to go," Arnold said with a sad smile.

"I know... But I'll be back. And you can call me any time you want, you know." She leaned down to give him a warm hug, holding him closely against her. He embraced her in return and closed his eyes.

"Bye, Arnold..."

"Bye, Helga..."

Their embrace broke at the sound of Bob yelling for her to hurry up. She rolled her eyes and pulled away from him, still smiling brightly as she walked outside and down the steps. Arnold stared out after her for a moment before running to the top of the stoop.

"Hey, Helga."

She stopped just as she was about to get in the car, turning to look back at him quickly.

Arnold stared into her sparkling blue eyes, wishing that he never had to look away. As he did, a plan began to form in his mind, and his smile grew until he grinned from ear to ear. "I'll, um... I'll see you soon."

She smiled as well, raising an eyebrow as she shook her head. "Can't wait, Football Head."

When the Pataki family drove away, Arnold's gaze didn't leave the back of their car until it was completely out of sight.

* * *

Arnold sat up in bed, staring at his phone as he alternated between checking the Budnick's online store and punching numbers in his calculator. His head shot up when he heard a knock on his bedroom door. "Come in!"

His grandpa walked in then and sat on the edge of his bed. "Hey there, Short Man. You better not be watching any adult videos on that thing."

Arnold rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, Grandpa. I'm just...kind of doing some Christmas shopping. I know what I want and where to get it, I just need to figure out how I'll get the money."

His grandpa shrugged at that. "Beats me. But you'll figure it out." He watched curiously as Arnold looked at his phone, still suspicious about what happened earlier. "That wasn't raspberries, was it Arnold?"

Arnold slowly looked up as a smile formed on his face. He turned the screen off and set his phone down. "No, Grandpa. It...was something Mr. Hyunh said. I was confused before, but now I think I'm seeing things pretty clearly and... It feels amazing. I guess you could say I finally figured something out..."

His grandpa slowly nodded as he gave Arnold a knowing smirk. "Something about Helga, eh?" Arnold nodded. "Well... What is it?" Arnold took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"I love her."


	16. Secrets

**Hearts of Gold**

16\. Secrets

Friday was a lazy day. After all the food and all the high emotion of the day before, almost everyone felt like slowing down and relaxing. By the time Helga woke up Olga was already gone to work, and with her bike still locked up by Big Baby, she was left stranded at home. Still, she wanted to spend as much time as possible with Arnold somehow, so that meant spending the day on the phone with him.

A lot of that time was spent going over the whole dinner. Arnold was proud when he heard how Helga and Vincent helped convince each other to rejoin the others. They laughed at the bickering between Ernie and Mr. Hyunh, and at some of the weird comments his grandma made. Which brought them around to her incredible speech at the end of the dinner.

As much as they enjoyed going over the high points of the dinner, each of them had one thing on their mind that they preferred to avoid for now. Arnold couldn't tell her why he was so elated and full of emotion when he came out of the bathroom, of all places. Helga didn't want to talk about her father's insensitive comment about how the story of her birth was "nothing special". However, as she recalled some things her sister implied about their family's past, she was only more interested in learning just what that story was.

On Saturday morning, Helga was sure to get up earlier so she could catch a ride with Olga. Leaving her locket on her night stand, she grabbed a fresh set of clothes and ran to bathroom in a hurry to shower and dressed so she could be ready on time. Of course, she should have known that doing so would mean she'd have to wait an eternity for Olga to get ready herself. Why she didn't just doll herself up at the freaking salon where she works, Helga didn't understand.

So she sat on the couch in the break room, watching adorable compilations of dumb boxers running away from vacuums and trying to catch rain in their mouths. They were the dumbest dogs, she thought, but she loved them anyway. An adorable clip of a boxer cuddling a baby jogged her memory, and she put her phone away to go find her mother.

She found Miriam in the living room, listening to a Hallmark Christmas movie as she played one of those colorful puzzle games on her phone. "Hello, dear! I thought you left with Olga already."

Helga rolled her eyes. "Yeah, she's still getting ready. I got up too early, I guess... So, I was wondering, um..."

"What is it, dear?" Miriam asked as she kept staring at her phone.

Helga sighed and shook her head. She knew it would be a battle to get anything out of her, so she decided on Plan B. "Where's the old photo album, anyway?"

"Why, I didn't think you would ever want to look at those-"

"Yeah, yeah, just tell me where it is, Miriam."

"Ummm..." Miriam closed her eyes in thought. Helga took advantage of that to pantomime a silent tantrum. "You know, honey, I think your father had it last."

Bob? With the family photo album? Helga found that strange at first, until she realized it was probably full of photos of Olga's many grand achievements. "Alright then. See you later." She walked off and slowly went into her dad's office. Of course he was on the phone.

"Hey, dad?"

Bob through his hand up to try and shoo her away, waving it around like there was a fly buzzing around him. Helga crossed her arms and scowled.

"Dad where's the photo album?"

Bob growled and put his hand over the receiver. "Not! Now!"

"NoOoT nOoOw. Jerk..." She mumbled as she decided to look around the office herself. She couldn't help noticing the irony of just how cluttered everything was, considering how often Bob kept yelling at her for not cleaning her room. Noticing a blue leather cover sticking out from under a stack of papers, she carefully removed the photo album and started to walk out.

"Thanks, Dad!" she made sure to say loudly before shutting his door. She didn't slam it, but she wasn't gentle with it either.

Before she could make it back to the break room, her sister came walking out of it and nearly crashed into her. "There you are, Baby Sister! Are you ready?"

Helga gasped, stumbling to avoid the collision. "Criminy, how about a little warning next time! Yes, I am ready. I have _been_ ready for a while."

"Then let's go!" Olga took her by the hand and practically dragged her through the Emporium and out the door.

"Now, you know I'm working an extra shift tonight, right? So unless the Shortmans can take you home, you'll have to call Daddy for a ride."

"Great," Helga said with an eyeroll.

As they were driving down the road, Helga realized that she had accidentally brought her family photo album with her. She cursed herself for not insisting that she stop by her room to leave it at home where she could investigate later, and only hoped that Arnold wouldn't bug her to check it out together.

* * *

Bob walked out of his office and looked around, walking into the living room. "Where'd the girl go anyway?"

"Huh? Oh, the girls went out. Helga's gone to the salon, and Olga's...no, that can't be right..."

Bob sighed and rolled his eyes. "When that girl gets home, I'm gonna have a word with her! Barging into my office like that during an important call, what has gotten into her!? Is it me or has she been moodier since Thanksgiving? I thought everything worked out pretty well!"

"Maybe her feelings are hurt after what you said, honey. You did say her birth was nothing special..."

"Criminy, we just heard a tall tale about how Arthur was born in the freaking jungle and, somehow, magically stopped a volcano! Does that make any sense to you, woman!?"

Miriam swallowed hard and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't think that mattered to her, Bob..."

Bob blinked at that. Did he really hurt her feelings? He didn't mean it to sound the way it did. Of course, that was a feeling he was too familiar with by now. He wished he could think long enough to avoid saying things like that, but it was no use.

He walked away from the living room, went down the hall in the back of the store, and slowly opened the door to Helga's room. He grimaced at the sight of it, furrowing his brow as he stepped over an empty junk food bag and an old Yahoo bottle that still had a little sloshing around in it. He winced at the sight of a training bra just casually tossed in the corner. As he sat on her bed and took it all in, he thought back to his words from the evening before last. He knew she had a problem with him and Miriam for reasons he couldn't understand. Frankly he thought she didn't appreciate them enough, especially after everything they did for her. Still, he didn't want Helga to feel like she was really just...nothing special.

At first he decided to merely let her have her bike back, but a thought occurred to him. He realized there was something better he could do. Maybe it wasn't the quantity time Miriam always insisted on, but irregardless this was something she would appreciate. So after leaving to grab some gloves and cleaning supplies, Bob got to work.

Starting with all the junk on her night stand.

* * *

Lila sighed as she stared at the row of letter tiles lined up on her tile rack, sitting in front of her on the floor of Sheena's room. She knew that soon she'd have to play a word, but her mind had wandered elsewhere.

"Aw, shucks. I need better letters," Eugene grumbled as he put a "T" and an "N" on the board, making the word "TIN" vertically, hanging down from Sheena's earlier "REPAIR". Eugene shrugged. "I have too many consonants."

"It's alright, Eugene," Sheena said cheerfully. "You'll do better on your next turn, I'm sure of it." She then turned her attention to Lila. "Your turn!"

"Huh?" Lila looked up at her and blinked. "Is it my turn? I thought I just went..."

Sheena nodded. She gave Lila an encouraging smile, but underneath she was concerned, and so was Eugene. "Is everything alright, Lila?"

Lila nodded slowly as she looked over her available letters. "Thank you ever so much, Sheena, but I'm quite alright." She stared, trying to think of a word she could put on the board with "S, X, Q, Y, K, E, U" sitting on the tile rack. She looked at the board, then at the rack, and finally played the word that had been on her mind for weeks now.

Sheena and Eugene looked at the board, and then at each other. They had a feeling something was bothering her, and now she'd finally given them a clue what it was. "Um, Lila... May I ask you something?"

Lila adjusted the way she was sitting, only to decide she'd rather lie on her side, propping her head up on her arm. "I suppose so..."

"Are you sure everything is alright? It's just that... You just played 'STINKY' and... Forgive me, but you haven't seemed quite like yourself lately."

"Sheena's right," Eugene added.

Lila took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she closed her eyes. "I'm terribly sorry for not telling you both sooner. I've just been oh so confused..."

"Well, you can always talk to us. We're your friends, and you can count on us!" Sheena said with a big smile. "Do you have a crush on Stinky Peterson?"

Lila shrugged. "I...don't know? I know I really like him, and...he does seem nice, and sweet... And he used to live down south like I did, so there are some things we surely have in common with each other that we don't share with everyone else."

Eugene tilted his head. "Didn't he help Sid with his prank on Helga last month?"

Lila shook her head. "No, not on purpose. Sid tricked him, I think."

"So, what's bothering you?" Sheena asked quietly, leaning over to touch Lila's hand. Lila closed her eyes and sighed.

"It's just that... He's been staring at me ever so much. Rhonda thinks he's obsessed with me, and... I'm oh so tired of getting that kind of attention. Almost every boy except Eugene treats me like I'm put on a pedestal, like I'm a perfect prize of some sort. I'm not a prize. I'm not a thing, I'm a person..."

Eugene gulped at her comment about him. Truth be told, he wasn't feeling the same interest in girls that the rest of the boys had. He wasn't sure why, but he had a feeling that he was different somehow. Which worried him and embarrassed him, especially during the puberty section of their health class. Not wanting to dwell on such thoughts, he simply spoke his mind about something else. "I honestly thought Arnold would have been the right guy for you. I still can't believe he's with Helga now."

Sheena looked at Eugene then. "Everyone has goodness inside. I think it's simply beautiful!" She said brightly.

Lila nodded. "To be ever so honest, I had a feeling about them some time ago... But I never felt a real connection with Arnold. I thought I did, but he turned me down. And then when he tried to win me back, he was so...desperate. He couldn't just be honest. He wouldn't tell me when things bothered him, he tried to get help from Gerald's little sister, and... He just couldn't be real with me."

"Wow..." Eugene said with shock. "That doesn't sound like Arnold..."

"I know," Lila said quietly. "I can see how he is with everyone else. And I'm ever so happy that things are working out between him and Helga. But when he was with me, he was different. If I'm going to find a boyfriend, I need to find that oh so special someone who can be honest with me, and who wants to get to know me for who I really am."

"We understand, Lila. Just try to have faith," Sheena said with a warm smile as she got up to sit beside her. "The universe has a plan for you, and if you have enough positive spiritual energy, I believe you will find the special someone you're looking for."

"But what if I get hurt? To be honest I'm afraid to even talk to him. What if he's like everyone else?"

Eugene sat down on her other side. "Just remember what Sheena said. You can't give up hope. If you want to give Stinky a chance, you should do it. You'll be okay. And if you're not, Sheena and I will be here to help you feel better."

Lila smiled at both of them. "Thank you both ever so much. I should have known I could count on you." As the three of them gave each other a big group hug, Lila felt like a weight had been taken off her shoulders. She knew now what she would have to do. "I'm ever so sorry for keeping my troubles a secret from you guys."

Sheena smiled brightly. "We forgive you! Just remember, you can trust us with anything! Right, Eugene?"

"Um... Yeah. Anything at all..." Eugene said as he gave them a smile, trying avoid the feeling that he was keeping a secret of his own. But how could he share it with them if he didn't even understand what it was?

* * *

Helga knocked on the door of the Sunset Arms and was surprised when the senior Shortman answered. "Well, hello there! Short Man expecting you today?"

"Yeah, we talked about it yesterday. Can I, um...come in? Please?" Helga shivered, still carrying the photo album under her arm.

"I dunno, can you?" Phil stepped aside and laughed as she rolled her eyes and walked inside.

"Where's Arnold, anyway? Is he in his room?"

"Hmm. You know, I think he did go somewhere..." Phil reached up to scratch his head, walking off as he called out to Miles. Helga hung up her jacket and didn't have to wait too long. Miles came out from the kitchen with his sleeves rolled up, wearing gloves and a tool belt. Helga figured he was probably working under the sink or something.

"Hey, Helga. Arnold's out doing some Christmas shopping, but you're welcome to hang out until he gets home."

"Christmas shopping...?"

"Well, actually he's trying to earn some extra cash. He got the idea to help some folks in the neighborhood, do their shopping for them. Today I think he started with the Johanssens and the Heyerdahls. Want me to call him, give him the heads up that you're here?"

Helga blinked. "No, that's alright. Is it okay if I go up to his room?"

Miles shrugged. "I don't think he'd mind." Just then there was the sound of a car pulling up. "I think that's Stella with groceries. Hurry upstairs before you get stuck helping."

Helga smirked a little. "You're alright, Shortman."

Miles went out to help Stella, and Helga quickly went upstairs and straight to Arnold's room. She walked in slowly, looking around first before closing the door behind her. She walked over to the couch and sat down, putting the photo album down beside her. After taking a deep breath she realized it was a little too quiet, so she grabbed the remote and turned on his stereo system, letting the sounds of soft jazz fill the room, creating a calming ambiance.

Helga wasn't quite as calm as she would have liked, however. She had no idea what she was going to do for Christmas this year. It wasn't like Mr. Hyunh had any more long lost relatives to reunite with. Not that she knew of, anyway. Besides, even finding Mai was a fluke. Now that Arnold was finally hers, how could she possibly give him a Christmas gift that was actually good enough for him, after everything he's done for her?

Helga reached for her locket, only to find that it wasn't there. "What!?" She realized she must have left it at home and bit her lip as she pulled her phone out to call her mother. It took her a few rings to answer.

"Hello, dear! Are you having fun at your little playdate?"

Helga groaned. "Listen, Miriam, it's important! I left my locket at home! Gold, heart-shaped, Arnold's picture in it. I'm pretty sure it's on my night stand next to my bed. Can you please check on it, make sure it's safe!?"

"Locket, locket... Oh! I remember, honey! I'll go grab it right now!"

"Whew! Thanks, Mom. See you later." Helga hung up with a sigh of relief. She cursed herself for leaving it home, but at least it'd be safe. She hoped. Not wanting to hold on to that stress, she returned to her task at hand. "Now where was I..."

As she looked around the room once more, a big smirk grew on her face as an idea came to her. She'd always wanted an excuse to check out his room more thoroughly, browse through his things.

She went over to his bed and started looking through his shelves. Several books, family photos, old school projects, a model boat, half an old fishing gaff, a single red shoe... Helga gasped. She picked up the red shoe and examined it. Not only was it the shoe she left behind from their Valentine's Day date, it was still in perfect condition. She didn't even know where the other one was, lost in her mess of a room. She decided then that she should probably clean it after all, at least so she could find things that were missing like her other red shoe.

She set it back down where it was and kept scanning the shelves until she found several tall, thin hardcover books of some kind. Comics, she figured. She tilted her head somewhat to read the titles and gasped at one of them.

"No. Freaking. Way."

* * *

Arnold walked into his room, clearly exhausted the way his eyelids hung low and his posture was loose and hunched over. Still, he gasped at the sight of Helga lying on his bed, reading one of his books. He let out a little sigh of relief as he walked over.

"I'm sorry, Helga. You should have called me, I would have tried to come home sooner... Wait, is that...?" His eyes widened as he realized she was reading a volume of _She-Ninja_.

"Oh yeah. I took a look at your comic collection, and-"

"Graphic novels," he said as he approached slowly. Of all the things for her to find...

"Whatever," she said with an eye roll. "I just couldn't help myself. Gerald was right, she is one _bad mama_. And in such terrific shape, to boot!" She said with a massive smirk, enjoying the sight of his face turning as red as the blood that soaked the pages in her hand.

"It's not mine, it's... It's a gift for Gerald. One he doesn't have yet..."

"Oh, I didn't know you keep your gifts out in the open, right on your book shelf. Very sloppy, Arnoldo."

Arnold sighed. "Fiiine... Just don't tell anyone, okay? And for the record, I like it for the story, and for the beautiful artwork."

"Sure you do," Helga said with a wink as she put the book back on its shelf and got up off his bed. "Man, you look beat."

Arnold smiled at her and hugged her out of nowhere. "It's for a good cause. You'll see."

Helga hugged him back, though she was a little confused by that. "Whatever you say, Football Head." She broke away from him and sat down on the big red couch, putting his pillow next to her. "C'mon, take a load off. Relax a little."

He sat down and tilted his head as he picked up her photo album. "What's this?"

Helga gasped and tried to snatch it away, but he quickly pulled it out of reach. "If you can go snooping through my things, why can't I go snooping through yours?"

Dang it. He had a point. Helga sighed then and crossed her arms. "It's just my family photo album. And I wasn't _snooping_ , I was trying to get ideas for a Christmas gift..." She spoke quietly and looked away, and Arnold knew he must have hit a nerve. He turned to lie down, resting his head on the pillow against her. He then handed the album back to her without opening to a single page.

"Here you go, Helga. I was just teasing, that's all. Like you told me to, remember?"

Helga glanced down at him and smirked a little. "Okay. Fair enough. By the way, I... I know you're trying to earn some extra cash to do your Christmas shopping, and..."

"I can try to be home earlier if you want. I was just running late today because I ran into Harold's mom and did a little running for her too."

"Just listen..." Helga took a long, deep breath and let it out slowly. Sensing that something was bothering her, Arnold reached back to take her hand, gently pulling her arm around him. He held her hand as she kept speaking. "I just want to give you a heads up. I'm not...sure I'll be able to do anything special this year. Money's real tight, and I spent what I had on freaking wrestling tickets... I'm still going to try to get you something, just... I'm not sure how nice it'll be..."

"It doesn't need to be expensive, you know. If it's from you, it's special, okay?" Arnold closed his eyes and smiled, lifting her hand to kiss her palm. "Whatever you do, I'm going to love it."

Helga swooned at that. "You're a real Romeo, you know that?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

After a pause, Arnold couldn't help but ask. "So why did you bring the family album anyway? Especially if you weren't going to share it."

"Well... I kind of brought it by accident. I was in a hurry to leave, and it was in my hand, so. Yeah."

"So...you were going to look at it at home?"

"I don't know..." Helga sighed as she set the album on her lap. "I was just wondering about, like...when I was born. I feel like there's something no one's telling me. Olga mentioned something once, said I didn't know what things were like back then. On top of that, neither one of my parents want to talk about it with me. I just thought... Maybe I can find something in here."

Arnold sat up, moving the pillow and sitting next to her. "Is this because of the volcano thing?"

Helga shrugged. "I guess... But not completely. What Olga said was before I knew about that."

Arnold nodded slowly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well... If you don't want me to see anything, we don't have to-"

"Oh brother. Here. Happy?" Helga said as she opened the album up to the first page. She blinked, eyes wide, as the first photo she noticed was one of her mom with giant hair. She started to crack up, glancing over at Arnold to see if he was as amused as she was. "Holy crap..."

"That's...something," Arnold said as he chuckled quietly, trying to be as polite as possible. Helga shook her head and started looking over other photos. There were a couple old ones from her parents' wedding. Some from various gatherings of friends and family. A few of Bob with his big rig, back when he was a truck driver. It only took her one turn of the page to find a swarm of Olga. She sighed and rolled her eyes, grumbling with frustration at the many baby pictures.

As they turned the pages, it was like watching Olga grow up. Arnold was surprised to see how much young Olga looked like Helga, including the connected eyebrows. Although it wasn't long before that went away.

"Hey, look." Arnold pointed to a photo in the corner, the only one on the page that didn't have Olga in it. The photo featured her dad in a hospital bed, looking pretty banged up. He was hooked to several machines, he had an arm and a leg both in casts, and a neck brace around his neck with some big metal contraption around it. It looked like something designed to keep his head in place. "Was your dad ever in an accident that you can remember?"

Helga shook her head as she stared the photo. It was hard to see him so hurt, so vulnerable like that. It completely clashed with her idea of who he was, always so strong. "No, I've... Never seen this before..."

She turned the page, and it became a combination of things. Olga was still mostly in every photo, often smiling for the camera as usual, but many photos featured her father in various states of recovery. She also saw photos of her mother with a huge pregnant belly. "Wow. Maybe I'm in here after all." The next page, however, showed her mother without said belly. And more photos of Olga. She shook her head. "Nope. I know how this is going to go..." Just as she was about to close it, however, she noticed one small photo in the corner and opened it back up.

There she was, wrapped in a blanket in her mother's arms, her mother's face not in frame. She pulled the photo out and couldn't help but smile a bit.

"There you are," Arnold said as he put his arm around her shoulders.

"Criminy, I was small..." She said as her smile grew. As she went to put it back, she noticed something else in the little plastic sleeve. A folded up piece of paper had been tucked in behind the photo. She carefully put the photo back and pulled out the paper, unfolding it in her hand. "Um...this is weird..."

It was an old piece of yellow notepad paper, on which were written several three-figure numbers of varying amounts. She tilted her head as she stared at it. Clearly it was her father's handwriting, but what was it? Was it an equation? It couldn't have been her weight. Why were they comparing numbers?

"What do you think it is?" Arnold asked, equally confused by it.

"I don't know... I was going to say maybe they're times, like maybe they kept track of when she had her contractions, but they don't seem to have a real pattern. Plus they're too big even for military time, so... I can't figure it out, honestly." She looked even closer, and though some of the writing was faded, she could tell that some of the numbers had lines through them. So they were crossed out. But what were they to begin with?

"I guess you'll have to ask your dad about it." Arnold shrugged and rubbed her shoulder. "I wouldn't worry about it. Okay?"

Helga nodded and folded the paper up, slipping it into her pocket. "I guess you're right." She pulled her phone out to check the time and sighed. "My dad might be expecting me to call him soon..."

"Do you need a ride home?"

"I mean, we're tight on gas, but... I'm sure you guys are too, and I don't want to bother anyone."

"You're not a bother, Helga." Arnold stood up and stretched, wincing a little before letting out a sigh of relief. "C'mon downstairs. Let's grab something to eat, then maybe my mom can bring you home. Okay?"

Something to eat? Music to her ears. "You got it."

* * *

"Thanks for the ride home, Mrs. Shortman," Helga said as she leaned against the door, rolling that mysterious little piece of paper around in her fingers as she watched the end of autumn go by outside.

"I did let you know you could call me Stella, right?"

"Oh. Sorry, I kind of forgot." Helga shrugged.

"It's okay, I honestly wasn't sure either." Stella shook her head as she watched the road carefully. They'd gotten a little snow already, but that night it was really starting to come down. "You excited for winter? I'm sure you guys get into all kinds of trouble with all the snow."

"Winter's okay."

"I mean, I like it, but I worry about Miles. He's so darn clumsy, you know? He's not the best on the ice. Walking on it, that is. He's great on the road, honestly." Stella glanced over at Helga, who just kept staring out the window as she fidgeted with that folded up paper. "Is something wrong, Helga?"

"Huh?" Helga turned and looked at her. "I'm okay, I just... I have this feeling. I don't know, it's weird..." Stella nodded slowly and didn't say anything, a clear invitation to keep talking. Helga sighed. "Okay, don't take this the wrong way or anything, but... Do you guys keep any secrets from Arnold? Like, secrets that concern him?"

Stella took a deep breath at that. "There are stories we haven't told him yet, but secrets? No, nothing like that." When they came to a red light, Stella looked over at her more closely. "Do you think someone's keeping a secret from you?"

"I don't know..." Helga looked up at Stella. "It's hard to tell. I mean, no one really tells me about my family history very much. But then again they're probably just guessing I'm not interested. Not like I ask very often. It's just something my sister said."

"What's that?"

"Well... I found out that the reason she worked so hard was so that she could take care of me herself one day."

Stella raised an eyebrow, surprised at this. "And take you away from your parents...?"

"I don't know. Maybe. But she also said something about how, like... I don't know what times were like when I was born. Like things were really bad or something, and no one ever told me. When I asked about it at dinner, you saw how my parents reacted. Mom got all tense and Dad just barked until I gave up and left the table. It's like there's something they don't want me to know about."

Stella felt a chill go down her spine, and was glad to see the light turn green so she would have to pay attention to the road. "Well, you're always welcome to talk with us about it. And I'm sure Arnold will be there for you too." Stella reached over and rubbed her shoulder reassuringly before putting her hand back on the wheel.

Stella took another deep breath and let it out slowly. If they were keeping a secret from Helga, she had a hunch what it could be. She knew she'd have to call Olga and talk with her soon. Whatever it was, she believed Helga had a right to know.

Stella smiled and tried to stifle the mist in her eyes. "You like music? I think we have time for a song, and pretty soon the roads will be too bad to take the risk."

"As long as it's not lame. No offense but parents tend to like a lot of lame crap," Helga said as her face started to light up a bit.

"Tell me about it! Miles is such a dork, him and his jazz and his swing music. It's not bad, but sometimes you have to cut loose a bit, you know?" After stopping at a stop sign, Stella pulled out her phone and looked through the music Arnold put on there for her. "Cheap Trick okay? Or are they too old?"

"I've listened to them with my mom before, actually. Live or studio?"

"Live, of course." Stella started the playlist on shuffle, and right away they were greeted with the sound of thousands of screaming Japanese fans at Budokan, 1978. The two of them grinned as Robin Zander shouted out, "I want you to want me!"

Right away, they started to sing along together. "I waaant you to want me! I neeeeed you to need me! I'd looove you to love me! I'm beggin' you to beg me!" They laughed as they kept singing, Helga in full headbang with Stella nodding and tapping her fingers on the steering wheel in time with the drums, always keeping her eyes on the road.

"Didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin'!? Whoa, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you crying!? Feelin' all alone without a friend you know you feel like dying! Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you crying!?"

They laughed and sang the whole way to the Beeper Emporium. Their voices were louder than the phone's speaker, of course, but they didn't care. Stella turned the music off after pulling into the parking lot. "We should do that more often. Maybe drag Arnold along."

Helga scoffed. "No way we could get him to sing this kind of stuff with his mom and his girlfriend."

"Guess we'll have to make him, huh?" Stella chuckled. Helga smirked at that.

"Guess so." Helga took a deep breath before opening the door and stepping out into the cold. "Thanks for the lift, Stella!"

"Hey, wait." Helga tilted her head as Stella pointed to the back seat. "You got a couple things in the back."

Helga didn't have to think long to remember that the only thing she brought with her was her photo album. "Um... Okay...?" Helga opened the back door to find a couple grocery bags of food. She looked up at Stella and shook her head. "Are you serious!?"

"Take it, Helga. To your room, if you can sneak it back there."

"Listen here, bucko, I am _not_ a charity case! If I need-"

"Helga," Stella said sternly, "It's not charity, and you're taking it."

Helga crossed her arms. "What the heck does _that_ mean? Of course it's charity!"

"You're my son's girlfriend, and I like having you around. So does Miles, and so do his parents. I see how happy you make Arnold, and it means the world to me. So it's not charity. It's a thank you, and don't think it's the last one by a long shot, okay? Now take the groceries that _you earned_ inside before you freeze to death."

Helga smiled widely at that. "Thank you. I guess I'll take them..." Helga said with a little smirk as she took the bags in hand, noticing a couple Yahoos and a bag of pork rinds among the offerings. "See you later. I'm gonna try to get my room cleaned so I can get my bike back."

"Good. Bye, Helga."

"Bye Stella."

Stella waited until Helga had the door open. As Helga looked back one more time and waved, Stella gave her a warm smile and waved back before driving off, back toward the Sunset Arms.

The whole way home, Stella had a nagging suspicion that something wasn't quite right. Why would that poor girl's parents keep a secret from her? Especially if it concerned her? At the first and only red light before she got home, she sent Olga a quick text to give her a call whenever she was available.

* * *

Helga walked into the living room and set her bags down behind the couch for a moment, walking up to her mother. Who was asleep. Typical.

"Hey, Miriam." Helga said with a nudge to her shoulder. "Wake up."

"Huh? Oh, hello Helga... What time is it...?"

Helga sighed. "Where's my locket?"

Miriam rubbed her eyes. "Your locket? Ohhh, that's... On your night stand, I think."

"So you just...left it there. Great. Thanks, Mom. Real dependable." Helga growled with frustration as she grabbed her bags again and went to her room...

Helga gasped. The trash that littered the floor was gone. Her clothes were gone, seemingly put away. Her bed was made. Everything was clean and neat and organized, completely different from how she left it.

Including her night stand.

Quickly she dropped her grocery bags and ran over to the night stand and opened the drawer to search its contents. From there she moved to her dresser drawers, pulling clothes out and tossing them everywhere in her search.

Nothing.

She went to her closet, where even her shrine to Arnold was gone.

Still nothing.

With no sign of her locket anywhere, Helga shook her head, took her hair in her fists, and screamed at the top of her lungs.


	17. Wanted

**Hearts of Gold**

17\. Wanted

"Miriam! I thought I told you to call me when she got home!" Bob shouted across the Emporium as he stomped his way to Helga's room and put on the least awkward smile he could. "What do you think? I know it's not much, but I uh, I thought I'd surprise ya!"

Helga spun around, eyes wide and full of tears as she scowled at him. She stomped right up to him and stood as tall as she could to try and get in his face. "Where is it!?"

Bob's smile dimmed and his eyes narrowed. "Where's what?"

"My locket! I left it right there on my night stand! What did you do with it!?"

Before Bob could even answer, Helga shoved him aside to slip past him, storming off toward the living room. "Hey! Hold it right there, young lady, don't you DARE think you can push me around!"

Helga ignored him and walked up to her mother, who was sitting up on the couch now, eyes full of worry. "What's the matter, honey?"

"Don't give me that crap! How useless are you!? I called you to make sure it was safe, and now it's freaking gone! Don't you know how precious it is to me!? That locket saved his parents! It's my most cherished possession in the entire world! I bet if I left it at the bottom of a bottle you'd have ran to it!"

Bob walked up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders, spinning her away from her mother. "Hey! Don't you DARE talk to your mother like that! You better apologize, RIGHT now, and go to your room immediately! Have I made myself cle-"

"WHERE IS MY LOCKET!?" Helga shouted in his face.

"IT WAS GARBAGE!" Bob shouted right back. "The stupid thing had glass falling out of it! You could have hurt yourself, you idiot!"

Helga stared at him as her lip began to tremble and the tears began to fall. "You never loved me, did you?"

Bob scowled. "What are you talking about!?"

"Neither of you. You don't listen to me. You don't think about my feelings. You clearly don't have any respect for me, or my personal space. You don't know anything about me, and you don't even try." Helga started to wrap her arms around herself as her eyes narrowed. "I'm nothing to you, aren't I?"

"That's bull and you know it is! After everything we've done-"

"Like what!? You can't even get my name right! Do you even know how many times you've called me Olga in my life!? If you gave a crap about me at all you'd know how much that locket meant to me!"

"You barely even talk to us!" Bob shouted, getting red in the face.

"Honey, calm down," Miriam said as she walked up behind him and touched his arm, but he shook her off.

"Half the time you don't even call us Dad, or Mom! We're Bob and Miriam to you! You never even gave us a chance!" Bob's eyes began to glisten now as he let out all his rage.

"Please, let's just take a minute to calm down before this gets out of hand," Miriam said as she tried to keep her composure despite visibly trembling.

Helga ignored her. "I'm just a kid! Your kid!" Helga sobbed. "I was walking to school by myself when I was in freaking pre-school! You were supposed to give _me_ a chance! That's what parents do!"

"Well, maybe we should have let _them_ give you a chance, if that's the way you feel!"

"Bob, stop it," Miriam said more sharply. But it was too late. Helga's eyes widened and she tilted her head to the side.

"Them...? Who's... Wait..." Her eyes grew even wider as she took a step back. "Was I adopted?"

"No, honey. You were not adopted," Miriam tried to say as soothingly as she could. But Bob cut right through her attempt at compassion.

"Maybe she should have been!" He snarled back at her. Miriam gulped, not liking where this was going.

"Bob, please stop..."

Helga began to put the pieces together then, shaking her head as she hugged herself tighter. "What were the numbers for?"

"What numbers!?" Bob barked at her as he walked up to her. When Helga reached into her pocket and pulled out the slip of paper from the photo album and unfolded it to show them, Bob swallowed hard and stared like he just saw a ghost. Miriam held her hands over her mouth, horrified by what was happening. Something she'd dreaded for a long time was taking place, and it was worse than she ever imagined.

"Tell me what this is," Helga demanded, her voice already rough from screaming.

Bob looked at the paper and then at her. "Helga..."

"TELL ME! RIGHT NOW!"

Helga jumped at the sound of glass shattering on the wall. "STOP IT!" Miriam shouted, the neck of a broken wine bottle in her hand. But she was too late. Bob answered her right away.

"IT _WOULD HAVE BEEN_ A RECEIPT!" He screamed in her face.

Helga gave a little squeal before her jaw dropped. She looked into her father's eyes, searching to find her place in them. But right now, she couldn't find it. "You...sold me?" she said in a small, wounded voice.

"You're here, aren't you!? What do you think!?" Bob snarled harshly.

Helga's eyes narrowed. "I hate you," she whispered.

"What was that!?"

"I SAID I FUCKING HATE YOU!"

Bob gasped, and before he had any idea what he was doing, before he could stop himself, he raised his hand and slapped her. Helga cried out, stumbling and grabbing the back of the couch for support. She reached up to touch her face. It was already red and it stung badly, but it was eclipsed by the feeling of her heart breaking.

Without looking at her parents even one more time, she turned and ran out the front door, across the parking lot, and down the street.

When Bob turned around to face Miriam, he was met with a slap to the face in return.

"What were you thinking, Bob!? That's our daughter! How could you say those things to her!?" Miriam sobbed. As she stormed off to the break room, Bob quietly walked back to his office. He closed the door behind him, locked it, and sat behind his desk. He turned on his radio and raised the volume, not caring what station it was on.

Left alone with his thoughts, where no one could see or hear him, he hid his face in his hands and cried for his little girl.

* * *

Stella and Miles sat on couch on either side of Arnold as he told them his idea for a Christmas gift for Helga. As he explained it, they smiled widely and stared at him in awe of just how big a heart he had.

"So, what do you guys think?"

"I think she'll love it, kid. You sure you want to spend that much, though?" Miles asked as he tilted his head.

"I'm sure. It has to be perfect. Not that it's about the money, it's the meaning of it. You guys know what I mean, right?"

Miles and Stella both nodded. "And you're sure you want Grandpa to drive you?"

Arnold smiled widely, glancing over at him where he sat fast asleep in his chair. "I'm sure. It has to be him. No offense."

His parents shrugged. Of course they wanted to be part of it, but they understood Arnold's reasoning as well. Stella touched his hand and nodded. "Alright. We might be able to contribute to your funds, but we understand if you don't want us to give you all of it."

"I don't. I really want to earn as much of this as possible."

Miles gently punched his arm and smirked. "Good man."

Arnold smirked as well, only his smirk quickly gave way to a yawn. "Well, I'm going up to my room. I know I'm a little early, I'm just really exhausted is all. I might call Helga for a little bit, but after that I'm going to bed."

"Alright, honey." Stella leaned over and kissed his forehead. "Tell Helga we said hi. And she's welcome to come over tomorrow, any time. I can pick her up if she needs a ride."

Arnold nodded and stood up, stretching his arms. "I'll let her know. Love you guys."

"We love you too. Goodnight, Arnold."

"Goodnight," Arnold said quietly as he made his way upstairs and up to his room.

He got changed into his pajamas and dimmed his lights, lying back on his bed to stare up at his skylight. He hated how, during the winter, snow would pile up on the roof and he'd have to climb up there and brush it off the many windows if he wanted to enjoy some natural daylight. He could see himself up there already, brushing the snow away from the window nearest to the foot of his bed. How did he get up there so fast that he could see himself from down below, he wondered?

His eyes shot wide open as he snapped back to reality. He grabbed his phone and turned on the flashlight, aiming it up at the window to see who it was. From the flash of pink, he knew right away.

He crawled over to the indentations in the wall at the foot of his bed and climbed up to the skylight, opening the window for her. "Helga? What are you doing out there?"

"Let me in!" She snapped. Arnold crawled back down out of the way for her and quickly threw an old shirt over the foot of his bed for her to step down onto. She came down quickly, closing the window behind her, and stepped off his bed to start pacing around on the floor in front of him.

Arnold turned the lights back on and gasped at the sight of her. Her feet were muddy. There were snowflakes all over her damp clothes and hair. Her nose was running, her cheeks were red, one more than the other, and clearly she'd been crying. He quickly got up to his feet.

"Helga, what's wrong? What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she says with a shivering voice.

"But-"

"I said I don't want to talk about it!" Helga snapped. "Maybe I just came to see you! Maybe that's all I need to say!" Helga said a little too loudly.

"Helga, please..."

"Shut up! I mean, no, just... Just be quiet, okay? I just..."

Arnold put a hand on her shoulder. "Let me go get my mom, and we can-"

"Oh, good for you! Yes, Arnold, go get your mom. Let her know, let everyone know all my business! Tell them how alone I am!" Fresh tears began to fall as Helga started to breathe more heavily. "Tell them how...how they...they don't want me..."

Arnold winced, looking into her eyes. "What can I do?"

Helga stared into his eyes and all the strength she summoned to get herself there started to give way. "Just...just...hold me..." He opened his arms and right away, she collapsed into them, her legs giving out as Arnold embraced her tightly. He sank down to his knees and rocked her in his arms as she sobbed and wailed loudly against his chest.

Arnold was dumbstruck, stroking the back of her head as he held her close. He didn't know what to do or what to say, and feeling this much pain coming out of her all at once made his heart ache with worry. "I'm here, Helga..."

Helga just kept shaking her head, saying over and over, "They don't want me..."

Arnold closed his eyes, hugging her tighter. "I want you, Helga..."

The door to his room burst open, but Helga didn't even seem to notice. Stella gasped and rushed over, kneeling down beside them and putting a hand on her back. "Honey, it's okay... Ssshhh, it's alright. We've got you..." She looked at Arnold then, asking him quietly, "What happened?"

Arnold swallowed hard, shrugging as he looked into his mother's eyes full of hurt and fear and tears of his own. "I don't know. She just said...they don't want her..."

Stella winced as he said it, then looked back at Helga as she rubbed her back in slow, soothing motions. "Helga, honey... Listen to me, okay?" Helga opened her eyes to look up at her.

"Let me call your sister. She should be on her way home any minute."

Helga gulped. "I...I can't go h-home..."

Stella already had a feeling it wouldn't be wise to do so, but she needed to know. "Why not?" She reached over to touch Helga's cheek. When Helga winced, Stella's eyes widened as it became all too clear.

"Please d-don't make me go..." Helga whimpered as Arnold kept stroking her head. He looked up at his mom, his eyes pleading with her.

Stella nodded slowly. "Let me call your sister and we'll figure something out, okay? I just need you to do me a favor."

Helga closed her eyes and nodded in return.

"I need you to try and catch your breath, alright?" Stella asked as she kept rubbing her back.

Arnold nodded in agreement. "Just listen to me as I breathe, and try to match my rhythm. Okay?" He started to take slow, deep breaths and exhaled them slowly as well. Helga started to try and match his breathing, her back still heaving slightly. "That's it," Arnold said quietly. Stella looked at him and he nodded to her, silently letting her know that he had it from here.

Stella grabbed a spare blanket from Arnold's closet and brought it over to them. Arnold wrapped it around Helga and started rubbing her back as he held her against him. Stella walked out and closed the door, and when she reached the hallway, she started to pace around, her hands closed into fists. She couldn't remember the last time she was so angry...

In the meantime, Arnold kept trying to slow Helga's breathing, calming her as best he could. "It's alright, now... I've got you..." Helga sighed as she felt herself starting to relax in his arms. "Just listen to my heart," Arnold said quietly.

"Arnold?" she whispered.

"Hm?"

"Don't let go..."

"I won't, baby..." Arnold leaned his head down and kissed her forehead. "I won't let go..."

After another minute or so, Helga finally relaxed against him. She'd still whimper softly, tears still falling, but she was no longer heaving and sobbing and hyperventilating like before. Arnold still hugged her tightly, rubbing her back up and down.

"I love you," she whispered, so small and so quiet it nearly killed him.

Arnold closed his eyes. He knew he had planned for things to be different. He couldn't change everything, but there was no way he could hold this in any longer. He didn't know how she was able to do it for all these years, but he had to tell her.

"Helga..."

She sniffled and lifted her head a little and opened her eyes, listening closely. He took a deep breath as he stroked her head, running his fingers through her hair. When he finally spoke, the words came so easily.

"I love you too."

Helga slowly lifted her head to look up at him. "You do?"

Arnold gave her a warm, gentle smile and nodded. "Yeah. I do." He reached up to stroke her face, avoiding the area where, unbeknownst to him, her father had slapped her earlier. He then closed his eyes and pressed his lips against hers, letting them linger there.

Helga closed her eyes as well, not wanting it to end. As she felt his hand brushing so delicately down the back of her head, his arm still wrapped around her in a warm embrace, she knew he was telling the truth. This, she knew, was what true love must feel like. When they parted lips, she laid her head against his chest once more, listening to his heartbeat.

"I can hear it," she whispered as another tear rolled down her face.

Arnold set his head against hers and closed his eyes, still rocking her in his arms as he whispered, "You are wanted, Helga... You are wanted..."

* * *

Olga got the call on the way home. Stella had all she could do to keep from showing just how angry she was. As Olga pulled over on the side of the road, she and Stella quickly worked out a plan: Olga would stop to pick up a few things for Helga, check on their parents, and come straight to the Sunset Arms. If Helga still didn't want to go home tonight, then Olga would stay too, so her parents could be sure that she was alright.

When Olga asked to talk to Helga, Stella brought the phone in and sat on the floor with her and Arnold. Miles came in and sat with them too, and as Helga finally told everyone what happened, he too was hurting for her. How could a father do such a thing to his little girl? The thought disgusted him, and he quickly felt the same anger that Stella did.

Arnold closed his eyes tightly as he hugged her close. He fought back tears. He fought back nausea. He fought back the urge to get up and punch the nearest wall, a feeling that was strange to him. As Helga wept in his arms, Arnold wished over and over in his mind that he could take all her pain away, even if it meant that he would have to feel it for her.

Olga did her best to comfort her over the phone. It was hard for her to hear just how ruthless their father had been, but she wanted to assure Helga that no matter what was said, she was wanted and her parents did still love her. Still, she wanted to make sure Helga knew that she still had a big sister who loved her more than anyone in the world. She told her over and over how much she loved her baby sister, and how she wouldn't let anything like this happen ever again.

Olga stayed on the line until Helga was able to calm down again, and after she hung up, Stella brought Helga to the bathroom so she could freshen up, get out of those dirty old clothes and take a nice warm shower.

Arnold sat downstairs at the kitchen table, staring down at his lap. Miles sat down beside him and stared into his son's eyes. He hated seeing that look on his face. "She'll be okay, Arnold."

Arnold nodded slowly, a single tear rolling down his face. "I know." He sighed and wiped his eyes. "I just wish there was something I could do." He sniffled as his dad put an arm around his shoulders.

"I know, son. I know you probably want to take this away, but..." Arnold glanced up at him, and seeing that look in his eyes, Miles knew not to finish that statement. "You can be there for her. You can't undo the wound, but you can help her heal. Okay?"

Stella stared at them from a distance, shaking her head. Bob didn't just hurt Helga tonight, as far as she was concerned. That man hurt her son, too. So she went upstairs and got dressed, put on her boots and her coat, and went to the kitchen to grab the keys.

"Where are you going?" Miles asked curiously. "Aren't you going to wait for Olga?"

"You can take her up to bring Helga her clothes. I need to go for a drive," Stella said sternly, with a bitter tone that did not go unnoticed.

Miles gulped. "Where...?"

Stella looked Miles in the eye and paused, glancing down at her heartbroken son, and then back up at him. "A drive."

Miles wondered for a moment if he should stop her. But he didn't want to argue tonight. There had been enough of that already. He simply had to trust that whatever Stella was going to do, she would be able to control herself and not make any mistakes she would regret. "Alright. Come back soon, okay?"

She nodded and walked over to them, leaning down to kiss the top of Arnold's head. "I won't be long." She rubbed his back for a moment before turning and walking out to the car and driving off.

* * *

Helga walked into Arnold's room in her pajamas, her damp hair hanging straight down as she held her pink bow in her hands. Olga trailed behind her, sitting on one side of Arnold's fancy red couch while he sat on the other side, leaving a space for Helga between them. Meanwhile Miles sat close by in Arnold's desk chair.

As Helga sat down, Arnold wrapped the blanket around her once more, keeping his arm around her shoulders. She closed her eyes, her head hanging low, as Arnold rubbed her shoulder. "I like your pajamas."

Her eyes opened up, and she turned her head to look at him. "Thank you..." She sighed as she shifted in her seat to lean against him and laid her head against his shoulder.

Olga began to gently rub her back up and down as she smiled and looked over at Arnold. "I got these for her last year."

Miles nodded and raised an eyebrow. "I should get me a set in that color."

Arnold chuckled slightly and tilted his head to glance down at her. When he saw that she still hadn't even cracked a smile, he kissed the top of her head. Only to be met with a familiar scent. He smirked a little at that. "You used my shampoo, didn't you?"

Helga nodded slowly at that.

"How did you know it was mine?"

She shrugged, and a curious little smirk appeared on her face. "It had 'Football Head' written all over it..."

Arnold gave her a warm smile and hugged her against him, reaching over to take her other hand. "There's my Helga."

She felt her heart skip a beat, and at last her smile returned to her, if only a little. She lifted her head up to look into the eyes of her soul mate, and Miles and Olga both sensed it was time to glance away for a moment. Not that she nor Arnold cared at this point. She gave him a soft, tender kiss to make sure she wasn't dreaming. When he returned it, she knew she wasn't. He was real, and so was his love.

Finally feeling enough strength to ask, she broke away from their kiss and took a deep breath before turning her head toward Olga. "How are they?"

Olga gulped and shrugged a little. "They were...still shaken up. Mommy's in the break room with her... Well, her smoothies. And Daddy..."

Helga grimaced before she even said anything about him.

"He was just...sitting in his office, looking at the family album. He had the door locked, but I talked him out of it."

Helga gulped. "What did he say?"

Olga reached over and rubbed her arm. "He just... He wanted to know if you were okay. I told him you were."

Helga nodded slowly. "Olga," she asked as she squeezed her hand. "I need you to do something for me..."

Olga smiled sadly. "Anything for you, Baby Sister..."

Helga closed her eyes. "From now on, please don't leave me alone with them..."

Olga winced at that. She never imagined that her baby sister could be afraid to be alone with their parents one day, but that day was here. She wrapped her arms around Helga in a warm embrace and sighed softly. "I won't."

"Olga..."

"Yes, Helga?"

"Too tight..."

Olga gulped and loosened her grip. "Sorry. I can't help it..." She reached up to stroke her head, looking into her baby sister's eyes. Every time she hugged her, she never wanted to let go. It had been like that from the moment she first held her.

"It's okay," Helga said with a sad smile. She felt Arnold leaning forward and turned to look at him just in time to catch him before he tumbled off the couch. Arnold woke up with a start and looked around, sitting up straight and turning to Helga.

"I'm sorry, Helga. I didn't mean to fall asleep, I just...I'm so tired...I'm really sorry, I couldn't help it..." Arnold said as he closed his eyes and shook his head, cursing himself for nodding off when he was supposed to be there for her. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it..."

"Hey... Come here," Helga said as she put her arms around him, letting him lean back against her. "Hush, my love... I'm tired too, alright?" Arnold nodded before she rested her head against his.

"I was gonna say, seems like both of you kids should get to bed." Miles stood up and stretched his back, letting out a sigh of relief. "I'll let Mom know you're asleep now, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks, Dad," Arnold said with a yawn.

Olga leaned over and kissed Helga's forehead before getting up. "Goodnight, Baby Sister. I'll be downstairs if you need me."

"Thanks," Helga said quietly, standing up and rubbing her arms. She rolled her eyes when she saw them leave his door partially open as they walked out, then turned around to face Arnold. "You sure you want me to take the bed? I'm fine with the couch."

Arnold stood up slowly to keep his balance and opened his eyes, giving her a reassuring smile. "I'm sure." He walked over to his bed and pulled back the covers for her. "Just..." He paused, unable to stifle another yawn. "Just remember, I'm right here if you need me, okay?"

Helga smiled and nodded. "Okay." As they embraced each other one more time, she turned her head to kiss his cheek. "I love you..."

"And I love you," Arnold whispered in return. "Goodnight, Helga."

"Goodnight, Arnold..." When they pulled away, she got into his bed and pulled the warm covers over her, watching him as he walked over to the red couch and curled up under the blanket. He fell back into his slumber easily. Helga took a deep breath and closed her eyes, quickly falling asleep as well, ready to put an end to this horrible day.

* * *

Stella sat in her car for just a moment longer, taking a deep breath before she turned it off, got out, locked it up, and walked to the front doors of Big Bob's Beeper Emporium. She knocked several times on the glass, hoping she was loud enough to get someone's attention.

It didn't take long.

Bob opened the doors and sighed. "We're closed."

"I don't give a damn," Stella seethed. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't knock you on your ass for what you did to that poor little girl."

"Oh so what, you showed up here looking for a fight or something?" He growled.

"Buddy, there won't be a fight," she snarled as she stepped closer to him and cracked her knuckles.

"And why's that?" Bob asked incredulously.

Stella got right up in his face and stared him down. "Because I'm stronger than you."

Bob stared back at her, their eyes locked. A tense moment passed, the chill of the night air doing nothing to cool the blood in their veins. Then Bob sighed and turned away, walking inside. "Fine. Come in, it's cold out."

Stella blinked at that. Not expecting him to let her inside, she walked in and let the doors close behind her. Bob led her to their living room and turned the lights on, sitting in his chair while she sat on the couch nearby.

"Look, Sally, I really don't care. You want to clean my clock, go ahead. I deserve it."

Stella swallowed hard, surprised that he could be so honest not just with her, but with himself. "I really want to, Bob. And yeah, you do deserve it. Also my name is Stella, and you better get it right next time."

"Fine, Stella, whatever," Bob sighed. "I screwed up, okay? I didn't mean to say any of that stuff. Certainly didn't mean to hit her like that." He looked down at the hand he used to strike his little girl and winced, shaking his head. "But I did. So just go ahead and do it already. I won't call the cops or anything."

Stella sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, shaking her head with frustration. "Bob, why did you say those things to her? Don't you know how fragile she is?"

"No. I don't. Know why? She doesn't talk to me! Every time she opens her mouth, she's got a nasty attitude!"

"Welcome to having an eleven year old daughter, you idiot! She's going through puberty! Her hormones are driving her crazy! And newsflash, Bob, you haven't exactly set the best example either!"

"You haven't seen her like that!"

"You know what, Bob? I haven't. Ever wonder why...?"

Bob stared at her and slowly deflated, holding his head in his hands. "Whatever..."

"How could you... Hoooo, just... Give me a second..." Stella paused to take a deep breath, wiping her eyes with her fingers. "How could you even _think_ about selling your newborn baby girl? Who does that? You're lucky I didn't call CPS on you, and believe me I thought about it."

There was a long pause before Bob responded. "I didn't want to take the money, Stella."

"...What?"

Bob shook his head, not wanting to look up at her. "I didn't want it. It wasn't even my idea, they... The other family wanted to give it to us, like a freaking handout." He let out a long sigh. "Look, it was just... It was supposed to be a regular adoption. They would have taken her and..."

"And?"

Bob winced and swallowed the lump in his throat. "They would have given her a better home..."

Stella closed her eyes and sat back on the couch, taking this all in. The sad, cruel irony of it. "This isn't the first time you've been in a rough spot, is it?"

Bob sniffled and shook his head. "I was a truck driver, before she was born. Couple months before that, I fell asleep at the wheel. Woke up in a hospital bed. My truck jack-knifed and went off the road and it was still in better shape than me. When Helga showed up I could barely even hold her, my arm was so busted."

Stella nodded slowly. "So let me guess. You lost your job. Bills piled up. Lost your health insurance too, so the pain meds ran out. Bet the pain didn't help your temper, did it?"

Bob growled at that. "Don't act like you know me, lady. I'm-" He was interrupted with his second slap in the face that night. Stunned, he blinked and held his hand to his cheek as he watched her sit back down.

"I told you, it's Stella," she snarled through her teeth.

"Fine..." He took a deep breath and continued. "We almost gave her up because we weren't in any position to take care of her. We just wanted to give her a good home. I still want to..." Bob sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry... You gotta believe me, I really didn't mean to hurt her..."

Stella gave him a cold stare. "Then you better tell her that when she comes home. Right now, she doesn't feel safe here. You sit there and think about that for a while." Stella stood up from the couch and started to walk away toward the exit, but she stopped to turn around and face him one more time. "Hey..."

"What?" Bob croaked.

"What changed your mind? About giving her up."

Bob lowered his head, pausing before he told her. Stella softened when she heard his answer. It all started to make sense to her now. As she left the Emporium and started the drive home, she knew she would have to talk to Olga some more about everything she just talked about with Bob.

Bob walked back to his office, closing the door and leaving it unlocked this time. As he sat in his chair, he was haunted by voices from the past, one of which was his own.

 _"I'm sorry, honey, but it has to be this way."_

 _"But why!?"_

 _"She needs a family who can take care of her..."_

 _"But... But I can take care of her!"_

 _"You're too young, honey..."_

 _"No, I can do it! Please, I'll get a job! I'll get two jobs! I'll do anything, just please, please don't let her go."_

 _"I..."_

 _"Please don't give my baby sister away..."_

Bob opened the photo album up once again, to the page full of his recovery photos. He shook his head as he saw himself lying in the hospital, that halo around his entire head. It was also the first page to feature his little Helga, in a photo in the bottom corner. He couldn't help but smile at the sight, seeing her all bundled up and held so delicately.

He turned to the next page, which was full of photos of Helga. He pulled out a photo similar to the one on the previous page, capturing the moment from another angle, and smiled. Tears welled up in his eyes, seeing Olga so proud to be holding her baby sister like that. He knew she'd never let her go.

He put the photo back into its sleeve and hid his face in his trembling hands, as if to hide his shame from the faces in the album.

* * *

Later that night, Arnold woke up with a jolt. Helga tossed and turned and shook in his bed, screaming loudly. He quickly jumped up from the couch and ran over to her, sitting on the side of the bed and grabbing her by the shoulders.

"Helga, wake up!" he said as he shook her, trying to be gentle with her. "Helga, it's alright, it's just a dream!"

Her eyes burst open and she gasped, looking up at him in terror. "Arnold!" She started to hyperventilate and wrapped her arms around his waist. "You left me," she whimpered as she trembled and started to cry against him.

"Nooo, I'm here Helga... I'm right here..." He shifted away from her a bit, getting up onto the bed and leaning up against the wall. He put the pillows over his lap, and she curled up against him as he held her.

"I looked everywhere but I couldn't find you," she sobbed as he rubbed her back, looking down at her with tired eyes.

"Ssshhh, it's alright. I didn't go anywhere. I'm right here... I'm right here..." He stroked her head, running his fingers through her hair. "Do you want me to stay right here with you?"

She looked up at him and nodded. "Is it too weird?"

Arnold figured he would be much older before he shared a bed with a girl, but such thoughts were the furthest thing from his mind. "No, it's alright. Don't worry about it, okay?"

Helga closed her eyes and sighed. After a few minutes her breathing finally started to relax. "I'm sorry I woke you up..."

"You don't need to be sorry... I told you I'd be here if you needed me, and I'm here." He leaned down to kiss her temple. "Just try to get some sleep, alright? I'm here for you..."

"Alright..." She sniffled as she took a deep breath and started to drift off. "Thank you..."

"You're always welcome." Arnold closed his eyes as well, yawning quietly.

"I love you so much," she whispered.

"I love you too," he whispered back.

"My Arnold..." With that she finally fell asleep, curled up in his arms.

He smiled and pulled the covers back over her, shifting a little so he could pull them out more as he sat on top of them. He figured it would be a little less awkward that way.

Arnold put his arms around her once more and as he closed his eyes and began to drift away, he whispered back to her, "My Helga..."


	18. Stinky's Girlfriend

**Hearts of Gold**

18\. Stinky's Girlfriend

Arnold woke up the next day in his own bed, lying on his back, looking up at his snow-covered skylight. Alone, with no Helga in sight. Which is not how he remembered falling asleep. He was pretty sure he slept on the red couch, and Helga slept in his bed. As he rubbed his eyes he wondered if he had it backwards. He sat up and tried to replay the evening's events over again in his head, and he winced when he recalled just how upset Helga was. He then thought back to how he finally told her how he felt, which brought a sad smile to his face.

Then he remembered how he got to his bed. His eyes widened and his face went as red the couch. "Holy crap," he whispered out loud. He got up and quickly got dressed, nearly stumbling as he pulled his socks on. After shoving his phone in his pocket, he opened his door to go downstairs, but he stopped. He ran back to his mirror to check himself first, then finally went down to find Helga.

The first place he checked was the kitchen, hoping to find her still enjoying breakfast at the table. But the only one in there was Ernie, reading the newspaper. It was then that he thought he heard the TV click on, and he walked quietly into the living room.

He felt a warmth in his chest as he saw her sitting there, slouching with a large bowl of cheese balls in her lap. It was the look in her eyes that caught him, however. At first he thought she was bored, but she was staring a little too intently at the TV, like she wasn't even watching it. Like she was staring straight through it.

Arnold walked over and sat down beside her. "Good morning."

Helga snapped back to reality and turned to look at him. "Hey, Arnold. Did you, uh...check the time when you got up?"

"The time...?" Arnold pulled out his phone and did a double-take as he checked the clock. "It's almost noon!? Wow... I can't believe I slept that late..." He looked at her curiously. "Did my alarm go off?"

Helga rolled her eyes. "Yes, and you need a new alarm clock. That thing is crazy. Where did you even get an alarm clock like that?"

"I made it. Sort of." Arnold shrugged.

"Well, it woke _me_ up, so there's that," she grumbled, leaning forward to put the bowl of cheese balls on the coffee table. Arnold noticed not even a speck of cheese dust on her hands or her face, telling him she hadn't eaten any of them.

"I'm sorry," he said as he reached over and took her hand. "Did you, um...sleep well, otherwise?"

She shrugged at first, but a little smile formed on her face. "Not at first, but... I did after..." Her smile turned into a little smirk as she shook her head. "You better not tell anyone about that. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it... I mean-"

"It's not like-"

"We did anything-"

"Right?"

"Exactly!" Helga said with a nervous laugh. "But still... Let's just keep that between us, Arnoldo." He nodded in agreement, and she let out a little sigh of relief.

"So um, where is everybody?" Arnold asked with a raised brow.

"Well, your grandpa's taking care of some snow out front even though your dad told him not to worry about it until he got back. Your grandma is...around here somewhere, I'm pretty sure. Oh, and your parents went to go talk to _my_ parents. Olga too. Guess I'm going home tonight. I mean I get it, it's the last day of vacation so there's school tomorrow. Still, I wish I could stay longer..."

"So do I," Arnold said as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "How come they all left you alone?"

She gave a half-hearted shrug at that. "They each offered to stay with me while the other two left, but I told them I'd be fine." Helga lowered her head a little.

"Are you fine...?" Arnold asked as he stroked the base of her thumb with his own.

She shrugged and gave him a sad smile, looking up into his eyes for the first time since he came down. "I am now." Arnold leaned over and left a gentle kiss on her cheek.

"I hope I didn't leave you alone for too long. Were you okay when you got up?"

She gave him a shrug and nodded. "Yeah. I woke up...with you. Stayed there a couple minutes, once I got that stupid clock to shut up. It was nice, but I didn't want us to get caught, so I got up, helped you lie back down, got changed, and-"

"Wait," Arnold said with a gulp as his face went scarlet. "Did you... You didn't... Did you?"

Helga blinked until she figured out what he was getting at and her eyes went wide. "Arnold, you creep! No freaking way!" she yelled as she pulled away from him a little, her face now as red as his.

"I didn't mean to- I was just- I'm sorry I-"

"Why, you..." Helga smirked and gave him a playful little smack against his cheek.

"Hey!" Arnold gasped as he reached up to rub his face, chuckling as he shook his head. However in spite of the fact that she hadn't used much force at all, and the fact that he was so unharmed that he was laughing about it, Helga suddenly recoiled in horror.

"I'm sorry!" she shouted. "I-I didn't mean it I w-was just kidding around I'm so sorry please I'm sorry Arnold please, please I'm so s-sorry," she panicked as she started to slide away from him on the couch.

"Helga, it's alright!" a bewildered Arnold said in as gentle a tone as he could as he reached for her. "Helga, please, you didn't hurt me, just come here okay?" He held his arms open to her, swallowing hard as he tried to stay calm for her sake.

Helga slowly made her way back to him, still whispering, "I'm sorry..." When she was within reach, he wrapped his arms around her waist, closing his eyes as he laid his head against her.

"It's okay, Helga," Arnold said quietly as he hugged her tight. "You didn't hurt me... You didn't do anything wrong..."

Helga sighed as she hugged him in return, laying her head against his. "Are you sure?"

Arnold nodded. "I'm sure, Helga. Just...one thing..."

"What is it...?"

He closed his eyes tightly and tried to swallow the lump in his throat. "Please don't cry," he said quietly, his voice trembling slightly. Helga tilted her head to look down at him then.

"Arnold...?"

"It hurts when you cry," he whispered before sniffling softly and sighing, frustrated with himself. If he couldn't be strong for her, how could he help her find her own strength?

"Oh, my love..." Helga hugged him tighter then, smiling sadly as she started to rub his back. "It's refreshing having you cry for a change...but I don't want you to..." She sighed and closed her eyes, feeling a new form of guilt that she hadn't felt before. Guilt that in loving her, he opened himself to hurting for her as well.

"I just wish there was something I could do," Arnold sighed, pulling away rub his eyes. "I wish I could take it all away. I'd feel it for you, so you wouldn't have to..."

Helga reached over to stroke his cheek, wiping away another tear as it fell down. "My Arnold... You really love me, don't you?"

He nodded and gave her a warm smile. "I do."

Helga stared into his eyes for a moment before leaning forward and grabbing the bowl of cheese balls and the TV remote, handing it over to him. "C'mon. Let's find something lame to watch. Then maybe you can show me the She-Ninja doll I found by your desk."

Arnold groaned and hid his face in a throw pillow. "It's an action figure, and please tell me you didn't take it out of the box."

Helga smirked and raised an eyebrow as she popped a cheese ball into her mouth. "I didn't know you were into boxes."

"...What?"

Helga threw her head back and laughed. "Nothing, Football Head."

* * *

The rest of the day was fairly relaxed for the most part. Arnold and Helga watched the second half of _Evil Twin: Triplets From Heck_ until his parents came home with Olga and they had a little family discussion at the table in the dining room.

Helga already knew she'd have to go home that night, but until she felt comfortable again she was welcome to visit Arnold after school as long as she got some homework done right away. Her parents also didn't mind if she stayed there for dinner, which did surprise her until she remembered how broke they were. After dinner they expected her to be brought straight home, where Olga would make sure to be waiting for her so she wouldn't be trapped there.

Helga was nervous about it. She wasn't entirely sure at first how her father really felt about this idea, and asked several times if he was really okay with it. She didn't want to spend a day with Arnold and his family only to get home and be yelled at for it. However, Olga reassured her that she would be there with her, and that she didn't think anything would go wrong.

Helga reluctantly agreed with their plan, and that was that. The rest of the day was easy. Olga showed Stella some hair and makeup tricks. Arnold and Helga laughed hysterically at some Powdered Toast Man cartoons she pulled up on her phone. Olga left to pick up some wings for dinner, and Miles and Stella wound up arm wrestling at the dining room table while they waited for her to get back.

It was pretty hysterical when Miles lost. Helga figured he might let her win, but she didn't expect him to give it his all only for Stella to demolish him. He went to the kitchen to run his arm under the sink for what he insisted was some kind of medical practice to ease the pain in his wrist and elbow, but Helga figured it was his ego that took the bigger bruise. Of course when dinner arrived, they were as disgustingly adorable as they always were.

Deep down Helga wished that one day she and Arnold would be as stupid and gross as they were.

After dinner came a difficult goodbye. Helga held onto Arnold for a long time as they hugged, and it was obvious she didn't want to go. He reassured her that she could call him if she needed him, which calmed her somewhat. After a gentle kiss, she walked out the door. Arnold watched the car through the window as it drove away.

It was a long drive home, or at least it felt like it. The two sisters barely spoke. As they got closer, Helga started to fidget in her seat. When she went inside, she was relieved that her father was holed up in his office, although he didn't seem to be on the phone or doing any business. Her mother was three sheets to the wind, which disappointed her. She seemed to be making progress, but now she was back to her old ways. At least she did try to be a caring mother for a few minutes. Olga was the most attentive. Helga was happy to discover that Olga took care of the food Stella had given her the night before.

She only saw her father one time that night. She was nervous when he knocked on her door and stepped in, which annoyed her. She still felt old instincts telling her to give him more than the usual dose of coldness and bitterness, but she found herself barely able to say anything to him. She didn't expect him to apologize. For everything. Clearly he felt awkward and embarrassed, and after reassuring her that he's glad he didn't give her up, he left her alone in her room.

She lay awake in bed that night, texting Arnold until she fell asleep. A couple hours later she woke up from a nightmare in a panic and had to call him. He was clearly tired, but he stayed with her and talked with her until she fell asleep once again.

Even after he got off the phone, it took him a little time to fall asleep again. When he did, he found himself having nightmares of his own.

* * *

"Willickers, Arnold, you look exhausted!" Stinky said before taking a bite of lemon pudding. Which he loved, by the way.

Arnold sat still as a stone statue, his eyes half-open, staring into space with his tray just sitting in front of him, still full of food. "I'm fine."

"I don't know, man," Gerald added. "You're looking like a guy who's gonna turn into a zombie in ten minutes. You know, the guy who gets bit and never tells anyone."

"You do seem rather enervated, Arnold."

Arnold sighed and started to play with his food. "I'm fine, I'm just tired is all. The past few days I've been making shopping runs every day after school, and I've been kind of...well, staying up late with Helga on the phone."

Gerald rolled his eyes and lowered his head. He tried not to show how annoyed he was. "What are you doing that for?"

"I need the money for Christmas, Gerald."

"I reckon he means talking with Helga into the wee hours of the night," Stinky said with a mouthful of lemon pudding, which was his favorite kind of pudding. "Running around all day, staying up all night, you're a dang fool."

"Maybe," Arnold grumbled. However, as Helga walked up to their table with a lunch bag, which Stella prepared for her in advance the day before, Arnold's eyes lit up and he sat up straight, giving her a gentle smile. He couldn't hide his fatigue completely, but it couldn't stop him from being glad to see her. "But you know what, Stinky? It's worth it."

"What's worth it?" Helga asked as she sat down, giving him a puzzled look.

"Nothing." Arnold noticed her looking a little blue and reached over to touch her arm. "Are you okay?"

"I guess." She stared down at the table as she started to pull out the contents of her lunch. She yawned before she started eating, however, which concerned him.

"Did you wake up again?" he asked in a softer tone.

She shrugged at first, but when she turned to look at him and saw that worried look in his eye, she relented. "Yeah," she sighed. "I just...didn't want to wake you up again, so I didn't call you..."

Arnold moved his chair a little closer and put his arm around her. "You can call me any time, okay?"

"Criminy, Arnold. Just look at yourself. You're a freaking mess. You need to get some sleep."

"I need to be there for you when you need me," Arnold said as he rubbed her back up and down.

"Then why do you always leave when we get to your house, Arnoldo? For the past few days, I just sat around alone, waiting for you. Don't get me wrong, your parents are way easier to hang out with, but I want to hang out with _you_ and you're out doing someone else's Christmas shopping."

Arnold blinked and lowered his head, pulling his hand away. "I'm sorry, Helga..."

Helga sighed and reached over to touch his arm. "I'm sorry too, okay? I'm just tired, that's all. Maybe not as tired as you, but still. Can we just worry about lunch right now? I've blabbed too much as it is."

At that point Phoebe and Gerald were trying to mind their own business, looking down at their lunch awkwardly. Stinky's eyes kept going from one direction to another, desperate to look like he wasn't paying attention to them.

"Alright, Helga. And trust me, it's going to be worth it. You'll see." A big smile formed on his face, which caught Helga off guard.

"Whatever you say, Arnold."

When they went back to eating, Phoebe looked at Gerald and tried to shift the mood at their table to something a bit lighter. "So, have you started any Christmas shopping, Gerald?"

Gerald sighed. "Barely. As if they need anything else to argue about, they can't agree how much allowance I should get. Dad says I get too much, Mom says I don't get enough, Jamie-O just tells me to get a job, and every time I turn around Timberly tries to swipe a couple bucks for a stupid candy bar or something."

Phoebe winced, not expecting him to be in a sour mood too. "Oh... Well, there's still plenty of time." Gerald shrugged, and Phoebe looked over at Stinky. "What about you?"

"Well, my pa needs a new hammer, so I reckon I've saved up enough for that. And uh," Stinky glanced over at Lila's table. "I got an idea for someone else..." Suddenly a flash of red appeared in front of Stinky and he gasped, leaning back in his chair and almost falling over.

"Hi," Rhonda quipped quickly. "Five minutes. Meet me in the hallway," she said to a bewildered Stinky. He looked around the table, then at her.

"What in the heck do you want me for?"

Rhonda rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I have an extra lemon pudding in my locker. Meet me in the hallway and I'll give it to you."

Stinky's eyes lit up. After all, lemon pudding was, in his humble opinion, simply the best kind of pudding. "Okey dokey!"

"Not so fast, Princess," Helga snarled. "What are you gonna have him do? Shovel your driveway or something? Go find someone else to exploit, board-drawn Barbie."

Rhonda rolled her eyes at that. "It's bourgeoisie, and no, I'm not here to put him to work. What I want is none of your..." She paused, biting her tongue. "It's a private matter. Excuse me." Rhonda turned with a huff and walked away, turning back once to look at Stinky before exiting into the cafeteria.

"Stinky, don't bother with her," Helga said with a serious look on her face, frustrated with miss Rhondaloid but concerned for him too. "I don't care how much of a big weepy baby she is, hiding in the bathroom all the time so she can throw herself a pity party. The girl hasn't changed."

"I hate to say it, Stinky, but... I think she's right," Arnold said with a nod. "She said she would change so many times, but she never really does. Whatever she has planned, it can't be good." Helga looked at him with a little surprised. Usually he always tried to see the best in people, but for him to say that about Rhonda, he must have really tried with her.

"See? Even Arnold says it's not worth it, and he's a freaking ray of sunshine for pity's sake!" She heard him yawn, however, and rolled her eyes. "Well, usually."

Stinky stared at the bottom of his empty pudding cup as he took all this in. "Well, fellas. I reckon you're right. Probably takes me for a dang fool. But..." He swallowed hard and looked over at Lila's table once again. Stared at her longingly, though she never noticed him. She was perfectly content with Eugene and Sheena. He looked back at Helga and Arnold with a more determined look on his face.

"Last time I paid no mind to her scheming, someone got hurt. I reckon if she don't think I'm the brightest tool in the shed, she'll tell me all about it. Maybe this time nobody gets hurt. Besides, at the very least I'll get a lemon pudding out of it, and I sure do love lemon pudding." Stinky stood up from his chair and walked out of the cafeteria after her as everyone at the table stared dumbfounded.

Helga couldn't help but smile a little, taking Arnold's hand in hers.

Arnold tilted his head then. "Why did he look over at Eugene's table?"

"You've always been the light that guides me when things are tough, you know. I think Stinky has one too." She sighed and turned back to him. "I don't know who the real target is, I just hope Rhonda doesn't hurt him instead."

* * *

"You mean there's no lemon pudding?" Stinky asked with much disappointment. After all, lemon pudding was the kind of pudding that Stinky loved more than any other kind of pudding.

"Of course not, I just needed to get you out here." Rhonda sighed.

"Aw, dang it. That really bites..."

"Listen. I..." Rhonda paused to consider if she was really doing the right thing. She could tell him that she talked with Lila, told him he had no part in the Halloween pranks. She could even tell him that she told Lila how he felt about her. But did neither. She decided to go with her original plan, which would benefit her while still helping him. So she assumed. "I overheard your request to Helga. For her to pretend she was your girlfriend. So you could make Lila jealous."

Stinky's eyes went wide. What was she going to do? Was she going to blackmail him, he wondered? "You can't tell anybody. Please, just tell me what you want."

"Ugh, I am not going to tell anyone. I wanted to take you up on your offer."

Well dang. He didn't expect that. "Uhhh... Rhonda, don't you think that'd look awful funny? I mean the odd kind of funny, not the ha ha kind."

"I know what you...!" She took a deep breath and wiped her face with her hand, shaking her head in disbelief. "I get it. I'm rich. Like, ridiculously rich. And you, you're...poor. Like, really poor. Do you even have a cell phone?"

"Nope."

Rhonda rolled her eyes. "Even Arnold and Helga have cheap ones... Look, I know it'll look really weird, and... Seriously, you are not my type at all, but..." Something changed in her then. Her head fell low, and she couldn't look him in the eye. "Everyone thinks I'm just...really shallow and selfish and materialistic. Because I'm rich and everything. And I think... I think they might be right. I need to do something drastic if I'm really going to change for the better, and if that means being seen in public as your...your..."

"My what?" Stinky asked as he scratched his head.

"Your... _g-girl...g-girlf-fffriennnd_..."

"My girlfriend...?"

"YES! Yes, your girlfriend. I think maybe dating someone as... Well, someone like you, it could actually do me some good. I could learn about what it means to be someone's girlfriend. You could teach me what guys look for in a girl, and then maybe I'd...figure out how to find someone who... Someone who hasn't already given up on me..."

Stinky was taken aback by this. He hadn't expected her to say something so personal, or to suddenly become so vulnerable with him. He might have assumed at one point that if there was a wicked witch to his story, she would be it. But then he remembered his talk with Helga, and if she had some good deep down, maybe Rhonda did too.

But she wasn't Lila.

"I don't know, Rhonda. I'm not sure I could date you even if it's just pretend. I kinda...want someone else..."

Rhonda took a long, deep breath and released it slowly. "It's because of Lila."

Stinky shrugged and nodded sheepishly.

"Listen... Look at it this way, okay? You're just...helping a friend, that's all. And if Lila happens to take you aside and tell you how she feels, then we can call it off. I will have learned a thing or two, and you'll get to be with her. Piece of cake, right?"

Stinky was sure that, much like the lemon pudding he loved so much, there wouldn't be any cake at the end of this. But with Lila ignoring him completely, and Rhonda so desperate to be a better person that she'd come to him for help, he made his decision.

"Alright, then. I'll do it. But we start tomorrow, and I ain't doing it past Christmas break. Deal?"

Rhonda let out a sigh of relief and nodded. "Deal."

* * *

Lila was confused. For the past couple weeks now, everyone was acting rather strange. Arnold seemed oh so tired lately, and Helga was quieter than usual as if she was sad about something. Although, whatever it was that troubled them, it didn't seem like it was each other. They were as affectionate as they usually were.

Of course, the same wasn't the case for Gerald and Phoebe. Whenever Arnold wasn't giving him attention in class or at their lunch table, which had been less and less in recent days, he seemed rather irritated about something. Which only led to him trading little barbs with Phoebe, his own girlfriend, on more than one occasion.

But the strangest thing by far was the sudden relationship between Stinky and Rhonda.

She couldn't wrap her head around it. If Stinky was so obsessed with her, why did he suddenly settle for Rhonda? Not that being with Rhonda was necessarily settling. She was oh so pretty, and she was rich, and she always had brand new clothes without any holes or patches or anything. Just ever so fashionable.

Still, what she said to Helga at the Halloween party was ever so cruel, and while Rhonda had been spending a little less time in the spotlight, she certainly didn't appear to have changed her overall disposition.

So what could Stinky possibly see in her, she wondered? Why would Stinky hold her hand, or sit so close to her during lunch, or volunteer to be her partner for team assignments? Why, when she visited the library for books about ponies, would she find them sharing one text book?

With those thoughts, Lila began to wonder if she was wrong about everything. Maybe Rhonda wasn't so bad. Maybe Stinky wasn't interested in her after all. She'd been wrong before, duped by no more than some cheap graffiti on a brick wall of all things, and it would seem she'd been duped again.

This time by the very girl that had won Stinky's affection.

So now, in a cruel twist of irony, it was Lila who was watching Stinky. Waiting for some sign that things were not as they appeared.

* * *

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Rhonda groaned as she stood outside Stinky's restaurant of choice. Not either one of the French twins, not even Bigal's Cafe. Oh no, Stinky decided to drag her downtown to some godforsaken dump called Ned's Piza. A place so lame they couldn't even spell "pizza" correctly on the sign. And just to add insult to injury, it was right across the street from something called Roscoe's Funky Rags. She could tell from the window displays and the neon lights that it was all her worst fashion nightmares brought to life.

But at least she didn't have to try anything on in there. Meanwhile, the thought of eating Ned's "Piza" revolted her. "Honestly, Stinky, this place is hideous."

"Trust me, it ain't much to look at but the food sure is mighty tasty!" He held out his hand for her to take, and she sighed as she did so, her hand feeling limp in his.

"Let's just get this over with."

They walked in together, and Rhonda was surprised. It was actually worse on the inside. Chairs that didn't match. No tablecloths. Booths next to the dusty front windows. A creepy old hobo sat near the back, coughing and wheezing right into his drink. Rhonda gagged at the sight of it all.

Stinky took her to a table that thankfully wasn't too filthy. It was old, but sturdy, and it didn't have any food residue on it. She took a napkin from the cheap little napkin holder and could tell right away that they were store bought napkins. Rolling her eyes, she unfolded it and laid it out like a placemat.

"Menus," said a gruff voice that suddenly appeared next to them. Rhonda jumped, turning to look up at an old lady with a glass eye and far too much makeup.

"Thank you very much, ma'am!" Stinky took their menus from her and handed one to Rhonda. "What kinda toppings you like?"

Rhonda shook her head as she looked at the menu, which of course no one had even tried to give a little flair or class, and shrugged. "You can decide, I guess."

Stinky frowned at that for a moment, but determined to stay positive he pressed on. "How about pepperoni and bacon? I sure do love pepperoni and bacon!"

"Pineapple?"

"Huh?"

"What about pineapple?"

Stinky laughed. "Good one! Pineapple on a pizza..." Rhonda rolled her eyes as the creepy old lady walked back over to their table.

"What are you having?" she said in that same gruff monotone.

"We'll have a large pie, make it pepperoni and bacon."

"Appetizers?"

"Nah," Stinky said with a wave of his hand, "Thank you though!"

Rhonda tilted her head, raising an eyebrow. "We're not going to have any appetizers?" She looked down at the menu and then back up at him. "There's breadsticks, breadsticks with cheese, fries, garlic knots... You're sure you don't want any?"

Stinky gulped. He didn't want to tell her exactly why they weren't adding appetizers to their order, so he quickly made up an excuse. "Willickers, Rhonda, we ain't gonna need any appetizers. You want to have room for the pie don't you?"

Rhonda took a deep breath through her nose. "I guess so," she sighed.

Stinky looked back up at the lady. "No appetizers, ma'am."

"Drinks?"

Stinky couldn't help himself. "Yahoo Soda. Just drink it!"

The lady, who until now was quite stoic and held an expression like a tired bulldog the whole time, suddenly smiled at him with recognition. "I thought I knew you from somewhere."

"That's me! Well, it was me anyway." He looked over at Rhonda then. "How about you?"

Rhonda shrugged. "I'll just have a glass of water." Without saying another word, the lady walked away. Rhonda looked at Stinky curiously then. "Why did you turn them down anyway?"

"Turn who down?"

"Ugh... The Yahoo Soda guys. Why didn't you sign the contract?"

Stinky sighed at that, looking down at the table. "Well, to tell you the truth, they took me for a dang fool, and I ain't anybody's dang fool, not even for a million dollars."

Rhonda gasped. What kind of idiot turns down a million dollars for something so silly, she thought? She knew he was stupid, but not that stupid. "Is that it? They made fun of you and you turned them down?"

"Yep."

"Oh my gosh, you would not make it in show business." Rhonda laughed as the glass eye lady brought them their drinks and walked away. Stinky just winced and folded his arms on the table.

"I guess not..."

"You just have to stop caring so much what other people think of you. So what if they think you're a joke or something? Besides, that doesn't mean everyone thought you were a laughing stock. Honestly I was starting to respect you."

"Really?" Stinky perked up at that.

"Well yeah. I mean, you certainly weren't the _conventional_ type of model but you do have a...distinctive look. I hate to admit it but you could have had a career in it. Heck we could have been colleagues one day."

"Wow. Thanks, Rhonda." He gave her a little smile, relieved to discover that she was, in fact, capable of kindness deep down. Even if she didn't show it much at all.

"Not that we would have been offered similar jobs, of course. You're more of a character face, while I've got that Nancy Spumoni sort of thing." Suddenly that sparked a memory, and her eyes lit up. "Have I told you about the time we ran into Nancy's agent in Aspen!?" She asked with excitement, which surprised Stinky. "He was sooooo cool, he had one of those really posh British accents and everything, and-"

"Posh?"

"...Yes, posh. Like... It means 'fancy' . Anyway, Daddy got his number, and he says I have real modeling potential. Of course Daddy says I should wait until I'm older, which is really lame, but it shouldn't be too long now. After all, I'm already quite the elegant, sophisticated young lady, wouldn't you agree?"

Stinky already knew where this was going. Once the Rhonda train left the station, there was no stopping it. So he shrugged and nodded, letting her go off. She rambled on and on about Aspen and Nancy Spumoni and the family trip to Paris and how they were going to Hong Kong next summer and how she already had a million ideas for her fashion career and so on, and so on.

She only started to slow down when the pizza arrived. Not because she was too busy eating, of course. She worked on one slice with a knife of fork, daintily cutting it into tiny little pieces while Stinky, who wouldn't get a word in anyway, gladly stuffed his face. When he finally found a pause in her endless self-centered chatting, he quickly took advantage of it.

"How's the pizza?" he asked with a mouthful.

"First, your mouth is full. Second, it's...actually not that bad. It's okay."

Stinky swallowed with a loud gulp and gave her a big smile. "Really? You like it?"

She shrugged. "It's fine. I would have preferred something fancier than pizza but it's fine."

His smile dimmed at that and he tilted his head. "I thought pizza was fancy enough..." He was a country boy, used to things like fried chicken and rice, beef stew, beans, grits, things he grew up with back home in Arkansas. Not that pizza was new to him, but he always saw it as fancy city food.

Rhonda laughed sarcastically. "No, pizza is not fancy. Not even a little bit. Rich people like me eat fancy, and no offense, but I'm pretty sure you're not rich."

With that comment, his smile vanished with a sigh. "I suppose you're right..." He let her continue her rambling for a couple more minutes, feeling even more deflated now than he had before, and soon the lady with the glass eye came back.

"You all set over here?" she croaked, which finally put an end to Rhonda's rambling. She sighed as she pulled out her phone and began texting.

"Yeah," Stinky said with a dispirited tone. He looked down at the remaining slices and then up at her. "Think we could get a box for the leftovers?" The lady nodded and walked off, coming back with the bill only a couple minutes later, along with a small box. She stood there as Stinky stared at the bill and sighed, pulling out his old brown leather wallet. He stuck some cash in the little black envelope thing and handed it back to her. "That's all I got, ma'am..."

The lady noticed that he didn't quite have enough to pay for their meal, but a warm smile crept onto her bulldog face and she nodded. "That'll do, Mr. Yahoo."

Walking out of Ned's Piza, Rhonda took a deep breath of fresh air and let it out slowly, savoring it as Stinky stood next to her with the box of leftovers in his hands. "Hey Rhonda," he said quietly. When she turned to look at him, he held the box over to her. "You can have this."

She stared at it like it was a box of dirty old hobo socks. "No thanks."

"But I want you to-"

"Stinky. I don't want it."

He looked down at the box, and back up at her. Of course he could use it more than she could, but having his small gesture so harshly rejected still stung. "Well... Can I walk you home, at least?"

"No need. Daddy's on his way to pick me up. He should be here soon."

"Oh..." Stinky sighed and put on the best smile he could manage. "I had a nice time," he said with a little blush. If he were being totally honest, he didn't enjoy himself a whole lot, but this wasn't about him anyway. He was doing this to help Rhonda. Who was looking at her phone again.

"It wasn't so bad," she mumbled as she stared at her precious phone screen. Mr. Lloyd pulled up soon after and Rhonda hurriedly put her phone away and climbed into his flash red sports car. She rolled down the window and looked out at him. "Bye, Stinky. See you at school tomorrow." With that she drove off.

As he walked home alone through the snow, the lukewarm pizza box in his hands, he started to wonder if he made a big mistake. As hard as he was trying to give her what she wanted, she didn't seem to be trying nearly as much. Aside from one or two superficial compliments about him from his brief stint as the Yahoo Soda poster boy, she mostly seemed bored, practically annoyed just to be there. She didn't even thank him for his efforts.

All the way home he couldn't shake the feeling that he was, in fact, a dang fool.

* * *

"Thanks for meeting me here, guys," Phoebe said as she sat down with Arnold and Helga at their own table near the math and science books, an area of the library where one could generally expect some privacy. No one really hung out there very much.

"No problem, Pheebs," Helga said with a mouthful of baked nacho chips.

"What do you need? How come Gerald isn't with us?" Arnold asked curiously.

Phoebe sighed, wrapping her arms around herself. "I think something's wrong, but he won't tell me. Sometimes he mentions his family being rather vexatious but..." She paused, noticing the blank expressions on their faces. "...By which I mean annoying, but otherwise he won't open and talk with me about it. What should I do? I'm beginning to suspect that his parents are in conflict on an increasing level, and I worry it's affecting him on an emotional level."

"Of course it is. Parents are lame. All they do is argue with each other and lie to us," Helga snarled before glancing over at Arnold. "Although there are exceptions to that..." Arnold gave her a sad, knowing smile and reached over to gently rub her back.

Phoebe closed her eyes and rubbed her temple, feeling a slight headache coming on. "What should I do?"

"Well...hrm." Helga crumpled up her empty chip bag and tossed it behind her, though Arnold reached out and caught it before it could get too far. She tilted her head, lost in thought for a moment. "On one hand, I think you should do for him what you did for me, and what Arnold does too now. You have a great ear, you're easy to talk to. You could just...remind him that you're willing to _listen_ to him."

Phoebe nodded slowly. "So I should just let him know I'm here, and let him come to me?"

"Actually... See, on the other hand I think sometimes _you_ need to open up. Tell him that it bothers you to see him like this and that you want to help. I can't tell you how many times there was something wrong with Arnold and I only wished I could step in and help him."

Arnold tilted his head curiously. "Really?"

Helga turned to him and shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, sometimes I _did_ wind up doing something. Like when that lying b-... _beach bimbo_ Summer was using you. Or when Lila dumped you."

"Hello..."

Helga jumped in her seat and spun around quickly. "Lila! Heyyy, um... We were just...talking about a completely different person who, wouldn't you believe it, happens to have the same name as you!" She laughed nervously.

"It's alright, Helga. I never meant to hurt Arnold, but I'm oh so certain he was meant to be with you anyway," she said with a sickeningly sweet smile. Helga wanted to cringe, but feeling Arnold's hand on her back, she stifled it and gave a little smile instead.

"Thanks..." As if detecting him with some kind of sixth sense, Helga turned her head toward Arnold so he could kiss her cheek.

"Proud of you," he whispered.

Lila watched them both with longing in her eyes, wishing that she knew that kind of affection from someone. "Sooo... To be ever so honest, I did come to talk to Arnold. In private, if that's alright of course."

Helga and Arnold gave each other concerned looks. Helga had since told him how jealous she used to be of Lila, and he didn't want to make her worry. But Helga surprised him. "Go on, Arnoldo. I need to talk to Pheebs anyway." Phoebe blinked at that, but decided not to press further just yet.

"Are you sure?" Arnold took her hand in his, which she gave a gentle squeeze as she took a deep breath.

"Yeah. We'll be fine." She gave him a warm smile and nodded, wordlessly telling him that she trusted him. "Come back soon, okay?"

He grinned and let out a sigh of relief. "I will." With that Arnold got up from his chair and turned to Lila, letting her lead the way to another part of the library.

"Wow," Phoebe said in disbelief. "I'm...honestly really proud of you, Helga. I know how much she used to bother you."

Helga shrugged as her smile grew. "Well... Things are different now. We've gone through a lot lately, and he's really been there for me. He loves me..."

Phoebe smirked. "You still haven't told me about the day he told you."

Helga winced slightly, her smile dimming as she thought back to that day. She did her best to push the darker thoughts away, instead focusing on the brighter moments of that horrible, horrible evening, and everything Arnold's done for her in the weeks since then. "One day I will, Phoebe. Right now it's just... I don't really want to think about it..."

Understanding that she must have struck a sore nerve, Phoebe nodded slowly and then decided to change the subject. "So, what did you want to talk with me about?"

Helga sighed and rolled her eyes, propping her head up on her arm. "I...don't know what to do for Arnold. For Christmas. I can't do the picture thing again. I can't just reunite another family for him, I've done that twice now and the last one was _his_ family." She shifted in her seat, lowering her eyes. "I just... I want to do something really special for him, but I'm not sure I'll be able to."

Phoebe reached over and touched her hand. "Helga, whatever you do is going to be special to him. As long as it comes from your heart, he's going to absolutely love it. I told you before, he's not materialistic."

"I know that, Phoebe! Criminy! Look, I just have this feeling that he's going to do something really wonderful and amazing and perfect and I spent my money on freaking wrestling tickets for Harold and me and now my family is too freaking broke to help me save up enough in time and I just..." Helga closed her eyes tightly. "Phoebe he's done so much for me, you don't even know... I have to give him something special. And... I don't know what to do, okay? I don't know what to do..."

Phoebe thought long and hard. She couldn't think of any specific gift ideas that were particularly meaningful. If Helga's parents weren't in such financial trouble, or so miserable, they could have helped her for sure. And then an idea came to her. "Helga... Why don't you talk with _his_ parents about it? I'm sure if anyone could help you, they could. Maybe even his grandparents, too."

Helga's smile returned to her as she lifted her head up. "Phoebe, have I ever told you you're a genius?"

Phoebe laughed. "I'm sure you have once or twice..."

* * *

"What's up, Lila?" Arnold asked curiously as they sat down at one of the long tables.

Lila wrapped her arms around herself and lowered her gaze. "Well, Arnold... If I tell you, can you promise to keep it a secret? It's oh so important..."

Arnold braced himself. What about Helga? He didn't like the idea of keeping a secret like this from her, especially a secret from Lila. "I guess I could, but... I can't keep any secrets from Helga."

"That's alright," Lila said much to Arnold's surprise. She sighed, "You see, Arnold... I really like someone in our class, and I haven't told him yet. I was scared that he wouldn't be himself, that he'd be like everyone else, so I never asked him. But now it's too late, and he's with someone else..."

Arnold's eyes widened and he swallowed hard, taking this in. He never thought he'd hear that. "Um, Lila... I mean, I... I appreciate it and everything, but we-"

"Oh goodness, I'm ever so sorry Arnold! I didn't mean to imply I was talking about you. I think you and Helga are oh so wonderful together. To be so honest, I hoped for you two to be together one day."

"Really? Wow... Thanks, Lila." Arnold smiled, knowing he would have to tell Helga that. "So, who is it?"

Lila gulped and gave him a long pause as she shuffled her feet. "Stinky..."

"Oh," Arnold said matter-of-factly. Then it dawned on him. "Ohhhh..."

"Yeah..." She sighed and shook her head. "I don't understand why he's with Rhonda. I thought he liked me, but now I'm not sure. Rhonda even told me that he liked me, and now she's his girlfriend. Do you think I'm being pranked, Arnold? Because, if so, it feels ever so cruel..."

As she looked at him with tears in her eyes, Arnold decided right away that he needed to help her. "Do you want me to talk to him for you?"

"Would you!?" She asked as her eyes lit up.

"Sure," he said as he gave her a little smile.

"Oh, Arnold, thank you ever so much! I knew I could count on you!" She stood up and stepped closer so she could lean down and hug him tightly. "Thank you!"

"Alright, alright, break it up," Helga said sarcastically, walking up with her arms crossed. "It's time to go to class." Phoebe walked up behind her and adjusted her glasses, hoping things weren't about to get tense. But to her surprise, Lila went over and hugged Helga too before walking off.

"Well then..." Phoebe said quietly.

"Uhhh, Arnold? What was that all about?" Helga asked with a raised brow.

Arnold stood up and the three of them started walking out of the library together. "I'll tell you later." She gave him a puzzled look, but he responded with a reassuring smile. "I just have a little job to do."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

Arnold took a deep breath and sighed, "I have to talk to Stinky."


	19. The Gift

**Hearts of Gold**

19\. The Gift

"Dang it," Stinky sighed. As hard as he looked, he couldn't find the books he was looking for. He scratched his head as he started walking out. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why the books weren't alphabetized. Every time he looked at a book's title, the books next to it were always out of place.

"Where were you?" Rhonda demanded as he stepped out into the hallway.

Stinky stared at her and pointed back with his thumb. "The library...?"

"Ugh, I meant why were you in the library?" She asked as they started to walk to class together. "You could have invited me to come with you, you know..."

"Well, I reckoned I wouldn't be too long on account of I ain't the biggest reader, but I couldn't find what I was looking for."

"Which was?"

"Ponies." Stinky shrugged.

Rhonda rolled her eyes. "Why ponies?"

"It's for a project..." What he didn't tell her is that it wasn't exactly a school project...

"Of course it is," Rhonda sighed before realizing something and stopping dead in her tracks, crossing her arms. "Ahem... Aren't you forgetting something?"

Stinky stopped and turned around to look at her, reaching up to scratch his head. "Uhhh... Well now I know I must have forgot something, because I can't even remember what it is I forgot."

Rhonda rolled her eyes again. How could she even bother with someone so stupid? "Oh...my... Stinky, just... Here." She held her hand out for him to take in his. He shrugged and gave her a five, which did not go over well. She scowled and walked off without him, grumbling to herself about what an idiot they both were.

"What?" Stinky sighed and walked back to class without her.

He did his best for the past couple weeks. When she suggested he give her something, he gave it to her. When she suggested he do something for her, he did it. He bought her lunch on more than one occasion, which wasn't easy. He made a Christmas card for her, only to earn her ire when he misspelled her name. Not to mention their date at Ned's Piza, which wasn't much fun for either of them.

Nothing he did for her was ever right. As he sat at his desk he wondered why he was even bothering with her. After all, it wasn't like she was doing anything for him. What kind of girlfriend was she trying to be anyway? She didn't give him a card. She didn't share her lunch with him.

She wouldn't even let him have her lemon pudding even though she didn't like it. Which made no sense to him, because as far as he was concerned, lemon pudding was the greatest kind of pudding there ever was.

He knew he needed help, but he couldn't ask Helga. Not with the bad blood she still had with Rhonda. Lucky for him, he was also friends with a kid who was wiser than the barn owl from that storybook he read as a little kid, the one with the teddy bear and the little pig feller and the donkey who talked a lot like Mr. Frank.

* * *

Arnold did his best to take notes, as Mr. Frank lectured them about how Thomas Nast, that guy who apparently took down Boss Tweed with his cartoons, was the same guy who created the modern image of Santa Claus. It was hard for him to focus, however, because all the talk about Christmas only reminded him how close he was to reaching his goal.

He was glad to have found exactly what he was looking for at Budnick's, and during a sale too! Unable to wait, he'd already bought half of what he needed, and soon he would have enough money to bring his plan to completion. He could almost hear her calling his name now.

"Arnold," she whispered.

"Yes, Helga...?" he mumbled in a dreamy voice with that big goofy grin on his face, his eyelids low like he was in a daze.

"Criminy, would you look over here?" she whispered more harshly, breaking the spell he was apparently under. Arnold turned to her and she quickly held out a note to him. Which seemed odd at first. Why would she need to pass him a note? What could be so urgent? He took it before Mr. Frank could notice and carefully opened it up.

The note just said "meet near bathrooms", which gave him pause. He looked at Helga to try and figure out why she'd want to meet him outside now, but before he could start to grow concerned she leaned back in her chair so he could see Stinky across the room, looking back at him. Just then Stinky raised his hand up and waited to be called on.

"Yes, Stinky?" Mr. Frank said with the voice of a man who just saw a loaf of bread in a bag.

"I gotta run to the can!"

Mr. Frank rolled his eyes as some of the other kids quietly chuckled. "Very well, Stinky." Once Stinky got up and left, Mr. Frank looked around the room. "Who else has to use the facilities? I'm sure someone here does."

Arnold blinked and slowly, awkwardly raised his hand.

"Alright then, go say hi to Stinky." Arnold got up and started toward the door.

"I, uh... I won't be too long, Mr. Frank."

"I don't care, Arnold."

Arnold blinked and shrugged, quietly walking out and leaving the classroom in science. Mr. Frank sighed and looked at his watch, wincing at the sight of it. "Death invented time to grow the things that it would kill," he mumbled softly to himself. He sighed and took another sip of his blue Gatorade before continuing the slide show of old Christmas cards that no one really cared about.

* * *

"You know, Stinky, I actually wanted to talk to you too-"

"I need your help!" Stinky interrupted. "I can't take it no more!"

Arnold blinked and tilted his head. "Uh, what can't you take, Stinky?"

Stinky sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. "It's Rhonda. I told her I'd pretend to be her dang boyfriend so I could teach her how to be a decent girlfriend, or get boys to like her, something like that."

"Why would you do that, Stinky?" Arnold asked in disbelief.

"I dunno, Arnold. Guess I felt sorry for her. I tried to be nice to her, I really did. I even took her out to dinner once. I did the best I could and she didn't appreciate it at all. It's like the harder I try, the worse she gets! Now it's like she's treating me like I'm a dang dog or something! A no good, dirty dang dog that can't do nothing right. I can't take it anymore. I told her she had until break started but I can't do it."

It was at that moment that, unbeknownst to either of them, Lila quietly snuck out of the classroom and hid behind a corner, listening to them talk.

"I'm telling you, Arnold, I'm just sick of her! I don't care how lonely she is, frankly I don't care for her very much at all! She's just gonna have to get used to it. I don't want to be with her, I want to be with somebody else! Tell me Arnold, what do you think I should do?"

"Why don't you just talk to her, Stinky? Tell her how you feel."

"Just tell her?" Stinky scratched his head and shrugged. "I guess you're right. Ain't no sense in going about it the hard way I suppose."

Suddenly they heard footsteps around the corner, followed by the classroom door slamming closed. Arnold peeked around the corner to make sure it wasn't Mr. Frank coming to check on them, but there was no one there. He turned back to Stinky and sighed. "We better get back to class before we get caught out here. I just want to let you know one thing real quick."

"What's that?" Stinky asked as they started walking back.

"Lila wanted me to talk to you. She really likes you."

Stinky's jaw dropped and he froze in place. "Wait a gosh darn minute... You're telling me that Lila...likes me...?"

Arnold turned around and nodded. "Yeah. She wanted me to talk to you because she didn't understand why you were with Rhonda. Wait..." A big smile formed on his face then as he finally realized what everyone else already seemed to know. "You like her too, don't you?"

Stinky, however, was too fixated on the fact that Lila liked him. "She likes me... What are we standing out here for!?" Suddenly Stinky raced ahead of Arnold and back to the classroom. Mr. Frank barely even flinched as Stinky ran between the desks and plopped down into his seat.

"Oh good, you decided to join us again. Welcome back, Mr. Peterson... And Mr. Shortman, in second place, everybody give him a hand for being such a good sport," Mr. Frank said dryly. No one gave Arnold a hand as he awkwardly went back to his desk.

As Mr. Frank went back to being depressed in front of children, Stinky couldn't care less. He turned toward Lila, looking at her without caring who saw it, hoping that she would look at him and they would lock eyes. At first he had a massive smile on his face, but he noticed something off about her. She wasn't smiling. Was she tired? Or bored? He couldn't place it until finally she did turn to look at him.

She was sad. She stared into his eyes with enough hurt that Stinky could hardly bear it. Why would she look at him that way? He was so distracted thinking of her that he forgot all about the other girl in his life.

Rhonda.

As the class went on, Stinky tried to think of what he was going to say to her. He glanced over at Rhonda, who was clearly still too annoyed to bother with him. Eventually Mr. Frank got called out to meet with Principal Wartz, and after warning everyone that some school supplies could be a choking hazard, everyone was left alone in the classroom.

Once everyone moved around the room to chat with their own groups, or leave the room in some cases, Stinky hopped a few desks until he was next to Lila. He took a deep breath to summon all his courage, and finally addressed her.

"Howdy, Miss Lila. Pardon me asking, but you sure look awful blue. Is something the matter...?"

Lila sighed and closed her eyes. "It's okay, Stinky. You don't have to pretend. I... I overheard you talking to Arnold."

Stinky scratched his head. "What? You mean you heard us talking about-"

"Yes, I heard you. And don't worry, I understand..." She sniffled quietly and reached up to wipe her eyes. "I didn't realize that I was bothering you so much, but I'll leave you alone now..."

"What do you mean?" Stinky reached over to touch her hand. "I don't-..." He stopped cold as Lila pulled her hand away, turning her face away from him as well. His expression change from concern to shock, and then to sorrow. Just when he thought he finally had a chance, it was taken away.

All because of Rhonda. Selfish, meddlesome Rhonda. She sat in her place next to Sid, lost in her phone as Sid and Harold played desk hockey with a tiny crumpled up ball of paper beside her and Curly sat drawing behind her. She didn't notice Stinky standing over her until a hush fell over the classroom. She looked up at him and sighed. "What do you want?"

"Rhonda, you and me ain't together no more. I just can't take it."

Rhonda's eyes widened. "What are you talking about? We had a de-"

"I don't give a dang! Being your fake boyfriend really bites! I thought you wanted to try being a better person, but all you do is boss me around and yell at me for not doing it right! You ain't barely even tried being nice to me! All you care about is what I do for you!"

"Stinky, can we please do this somewhere private?" Rhonda said nervously.

"I can't wait another minute! Thanks to you, Lila thinks I hate her!"

Rhonda gulped at that. She looked over at Lila, whose had her head down over her arms, not even paying attention this like everyone else was. She knew it was hard for her to better herself, but now her selfish pursuits have come at the cost of the sweetest girl in school. "Please, Stinky, I-"

"If you feel so gosh lonesome, find someone else to be your dog! I quit!"

As Stinky stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him, Rhonda pulled out her earbuds and put them in with trembling hans, plugging them into her phone and slowly standing up to walk out of the classroom as well. With the two of them gone, the remaining students began to chatter.

"Stinky and Rhonda were just pretending?"

"Poor Stinky!"

"I can't believe Rhonda would do that."

"They're nothing alike!"

"Who names their kid Stinky anyway?"

"Shut up, Curly."

"Do you think Stinky's okay?"

"I'm sure he'll come walking through that door with the weight of the world off his shoulders and a ray of sunshine in his heart! Yep, any minute now!"

"Shut up, Eugene."

Arnold and Helga gave each other a knowing, worried look. Quickly they filled each other in on what they knew. Arnold was surprised to find out just how much Helga knew about Stinky and his feelings toward Lila. Meanwhile Helga was delighted to learn that Lila reciprocated those feelings. Of course deep down part of that meant that she could let go of any residual jealousy she still had, but having bonded with Stinky the way she did, she was mostly glad that he could finally be happy. And maybe she could get through a lunch without wondering if she'll be dragged out to the freaking hallway again.

But of course, just as Rhonda almost ruined things for her, she may have nearly ruined things for Stinky. Ready to take matters into her own hands, she stood up to walk over to Lila's desk.

Everyone gasped, however, as Rhonda stormed back into the room and beat her to it, walking up next to Lila. Helga stayed on her feet, ready to jump in as soon as possible. Her eyes narrowed and she cracked her knuckles, but against her better judgment she waited to see what Rhonda had to say.

"Lila..." When Lila looked up at her, Rhonda didn't wait to continue, and she didn't mince words. "Stinky doesn't hate you. Stinky hates me."

Lila blinked at that. "Rhonda, I... I know you just had a difficult exchange, and I'm ever so sorry, but... I overheard him talking with Arnold, and-"

"He was talking about me. Not you. I'm telling you, right now, give him a chance and you won't regret it. He's one of the nicest boys in the whole school, and it's you he wants. Not me. It was never me."

Lila stared up at her, eyes wide with shock. "Um... Alright, Rhonda. Thank you ever so much for telling me that." Rhonda turned to walk away, but Lila reached out and touched her arm. "Wait..." Rhonda stopped and looked back over her shoulder.

"Yes, Lila...?"

Lila gave her a gentle smile. "You'll be okay."

Rhonda gave her the best smile she could and shrugged before walking back to her desk and putting her head down.

She knew deep down that everything Stinky said was right. She wasn't girlfriend material. She wasn't a good person. She couldn't even get along with a boy who was willing to do anything she asked. Or at least she thought he was. At the very least, she told Lila the truth, and hoped that she hadn't wasted her final chance at redemption.

"Hey."

Rhonda sighed. "What do _you_ want, Pataki?"

Helga rolled her eyes. "Relax, I'm not your friend, but I'm not here to bug you either. I just wanted to let you know... That was pretty cool. Talking to Lila for him."

Rhonda paused before looking up and laying her head back down on the side. "I guess. I still feel worthless, though."

"Well, you _were_ being a total jerk to him. For like, a couple weeks now. Just an awful, awful girlfriend. Well, fake girlfriend that is. Not a real girlfriend or anything."

"I feel so comforted," Rhonda grumbled.

Helga crossed her arms then. "You want to know the secret to being a good person? It's not about what other people do for you. It's what you do for them. For years I helped Arnold when I could, and yeah. I'll admit sometimes I was selfish. I wanted to tell him what I did, or why I did it, so maybe he'd love me back. But I didn't, because that wasn't what mattered."

"Good for you."

Helga stood up and sighed. "You want to be a good person? Maybe earn some affection for once. Try doing something nice for someone else. You did it once today, you can do it again. Make a habit of it. You just proved you're at least _capable_ of caring about someone else, and that's a start, right?" Rhonda watched as she walked back to her desk, as she and Arnold leaned toward each other and kissed before talking amongst themselves.

She hid her face again, knowing she'd never have such a thing. Not now. She finally blew it once and for all, and to make matters worse, everyone watched it happen in real time.

She really was worthless.

* * *

With the day finally over, Stinky stood at his locker and stared at his feet. He already had his winter coat and his boots and his scarf, and his bag was slung back over one shoulder, holding on to the one remaining strap which was broken on one side. He was ready to go home, but he couldn't move. He kept going over the events of the day in his head and wondered if he did the right thing.

Slowly he heard gentle footsteps approaching, and he turned to see Lila standing next to him. "Hello, Stinky."

He smiled sadly. "Howdy, Miss Lila..."

She gulped softly as she looked up at him. He winced and closed his eyes, dreading what was coming. "Rhonda told me the truth. You weren't talking about me. You were talking about her..."

He shrugged at that and nodded. "I tried to tell you. But I figured someone else would. Arnold, maybe."

"I'm sorry..."

Hearing her sweet, gentle voice give an apology to him was enough to nearly break him. "No need to apologize, Miss Lila. You ain't done anything wrong. I should have just been honest with you from the get go, then none of this would have happened."

"I should have too..." Lila bit her lip and tried to remember what her friends told her before. What she waited too long to do. As she reached over and touched his hand, Stinky felt the warmth of her heart flow through him and his eyes went wide. He looked down at her hand, and then into her eyes. He couldn't hold it in any longer.

"I really like you, Miss Lila."

She laughed and gave him a smile that made his heart skip a beat. "I really like you, Stinky. Only, one thing..."

Stinky's eyes went wide again, this time with panic. Did he do something wrong again? "What is it?"

"I'm ever so appreciative of your kind manners, but you don't need to call me Miss Lila. I'd like it if you just called me Lila. Is that alright?"

Stinky smiled widely as his heart skipped a beat, and he nodded eagerly. "Why certainly... Lila..."

She gave him a warm smile in return, and her eyes lit up as an idea came to mind. "Eugene and Sheena and I like to meet up for board games on the weekend. Would you like to join us?"

Stinky nodded enthusiastically. "Heck yeah! You fellas ever play cards? Poker? Rummy? War? Crazy Eights? Blackjack? Go Fish?"

Lila giggled a little and shook her head. "I'm afraid we haven't. I'm not sure I ever played any card games before..."

"I got a deck or two at home, I can teach you! No sweat. Matter of fact..." He gulped a little as an idea came to him. When he finally summoned the courage he continued, "How about ya'll meet at my place this time?"

Lila blushed as she fidgeted with one of her braids, her body swaying back and forth. "If that's your way of inviting me to your house, then... I would love to. I'll talk to Eugene and Sheena about it."

"YES! I, uh, I mean... Okey dokey!"

Stinky and Lila walked down the hallway together, heading toward the exit as Rhonda watched from a distance.

She was glad that, at the very least, she hadn't completely ruined things for Stinky. Or for Lila. But she couldn't bring herself to smile. She knew she couldn't feel any lower in spite of her one good deed, and sighed as she walked back to her locker to grab her things.

As she approached, however, she noticed that not only was her locker slightly ajar, but something was sticking out of it. At first she wondered who on Earth could possibly have the combination to her lock, but then she noticed that it was a gift, wrapped in festive wrapping paper. She pulled it out and looked at it with a raised eyebrow.

She could tell it was probably a framed poster or photo of some kind, sized roughly 11 by 14 or so. A little envelope was taped to the wrapping paper as well, the words "DON'T OPEN TIL XMAS" written on it. Part of her wanted to open both the card and the gift immediately. Another part of her wanted to throw them away, certain that they would be wasted on her.

Instead she set it down to grab her coat and her bag, then picked it up and carried it out under her arm.

The whole bus ride home she wondered, if everyone in her class hated her, then who could have possibly left the gift there? A smile began to form as it occurred to her that she may have been wrong. Perhaps there was someone out there who did still care about her.

But who?

* * *

The weekend came and Helga was relieved to finally be able to go to Arnold's house and not have to work on homework right away. Even better, Arnold once again ran out to earn some extra money. Of course the past few days Arnold has resorted to shoveling driveways for people in the neighborhood instead of shopping runs, which left him a little sore, but she just reassured him he was getting a good muscular work out. What really frustrated him was the insistence that he slow down and not rush out every day, but now that Helga's nightmares had started to fade, he was glad he had more time to rest up and get plenty of sleep.

Meanwhile after cursing herself for wasting every opportunity to talk to his parents, Helga had finally summoned the courage. Today was the day. Once Arnold left, she marched downstairs and into the living room. As she approached them, they paused the TV on a shot of a very shifty looking man in a blue jumpsuit getting ready to punch the bars of his jail cell.

"You didn't have to pause it for me," Helga said as she sat on the coffee table.

"Actually we did, this show is very much, uh... R rated, so... What's up?"

After rolling her eyes at the idea that she hadn't already consumed plenty of R rated stuff, she took a deep breath and whispered to herself, "Just ask them," and then cleared her throat. "I know Christmas isn't far away..."

"Okay..." Stella said curiously.

"And I really want to give Arnold something special. He's a special guy, and he deserves something...well, special." She looked away to avoid their gaze, twiddling her thumbs in her lap.

Miles and Stella both smiled at the irony, but they both decided to hear her out. "Go on..."

"I just...haven't figured it out yet... And on top of that, I have, like...no money, pretty much. Olga used to give me some but ever since things went to heck for her, anything she makes at work goes toward bills like my phone, her phone, everyone's phone really." She swallowed hard then, the next few words not coming easily. "Plus, I... I can't ask my dad... Not yet..."

Miles and Stella looked at each other for a moment. Miles whispered, "I've got this one," and they turned back to her. "So, first things first, money's kind of tight for us at the moment, but... We could help you out with some."

A smile slowly formed on her face, but she raised an eyebrow, still feeling a little nervous. "But...?"

"I get the feeling you're not considering your options enough." Helga sighed as he said that, prompting him to lean forward a bit and prop his head up on his arm, his elbow resting on his knee. "I don't doubt your taste, and I'm sure you could go out there and buy him something wonderful. Lord knows he's got big plans for you."

Helga's eyes widened a bit, and Stella leaned over and smacked his arm a little. He winced and shrugged. "Sorry. Anyway... The point is, it's not about the money. Not for him, and not for you either, I assume. It's about...telling him you love him in your own special way."

"I know, but... Nothing is coming to me. I just... It's hard to put into words, you know?"

Miles shrugged. "I guess so. Was it always like that?"

"Huh?"

Miles laughed. "Telling him you love him in a special way, that could only come from you. Was that always hard for you?"

Helga scoffed. "You kidding? I've got pages and pages of poetry he's never..." At that moment her eyes widened and she let out a small gasp, the realization hitting her like a freight train. Miles smirked a bit as a wide grin came over her face. "Holy crap... That's perfect!"

She jumped off the coffee table and spun around with joy as Miles leaned back and glanced at a proud Stella, who leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"If I bring the box over, would you guys wrap it for me, maybe hide it somewhere?" Helga asked quickly.

"Um...sure?" Stella chuckled. "I'm quite the wrapping pro, since I have to wrap _this one_ every time he bumps his head or trips over a stool." Miles rolled his eyes at that.

"Is that your way of saying I'm your own special gift?"

Stella smirked. "Maybe." In their heads they both planned for a little _unwrapping_ of their own later.

Helga was too excited to notice their little flirtation, of course. "Perfect! It's so perfect! I'll bring the box tomorrow!" With that, Helga ran out of the living room and practically danced her way upstairs.

At last, she knew the perfect gift to give her beloved.

* * *

As the next few weeks went by, the excitement for Christmas grew. Rhonda was anxious to find out who her mysterious gift giver was, and so far attempts to fish them out yielded no results. When Stinky wasn't hanging out with Lila, eager to get to know her, he was hard at work making her gift by hand, carefully and slowly bringing his vision to life.

When Christmas break came, Arnold and Helga were able to spend much more time together. Arnold shoveled the driveways in the mornings and spent the afternoons with her. Olga stopped by occasionally as well, usually bringing cookies and other baked treats. Helga was in rare form, fighting her nervousness about her own gift on one hand while, on the other hand, she was just dying to find out what Arnold had planned.

After finally making enough money to get what he was looking for, Arnold got a ride to Budnick's from his grandpa and practically ran through the store, darting through the crowds of last-minute shoppers until he reached his destination.

He scanned the various expensive gifts carefully until he spotted just what he was looking for, and he was lucky. After checking with the cashier at the register nearby, he learned that it was the last one in stock. He took a deep breath, his heart practically beating out of his chest, and reached for it.

At the exact same moment, someone else reached for it too.

Arnold blinked and turned to see a girl he'd never seen before. She must have been about the same age as him, but he knew he'd never seen her at P.S. 118. She was pale, had straight black hair and green eyes which were currently staring at him. "Hi."

"Uhhh... Hi..." Arnold tried not to sound like all his excitement was being drained out of him. "Were you...?"

"Yeah, I um... I'm sorry..." She sighed a little and put her hands in the pockets of her camo jacket. "Who's it for?"

Arnold blinked a little, looking at the prize so within his reach and yet suddenly so far away. He swallowed hard and rubbed the back of his neck. "My girlfriend..."

The girl nodded slowly. "I was gonna get it for my mom, actually..." Arnold winced at that, but before he could respond, she said something that surprised him. "You really love her?"

"...Yeah. I really do." He went on to give her a brief summary of just how he felt about her. How she was too shy to tell him how she felt for a long time, and how he knew he wanted to do anything he could to make her happy. The girl raised an eyebrow and smiled, stifling a laugh as she realized just how easily this all came to him.

"You used to telling strangers all about your very shy girlfriend?"

Arnold gulped and his face turned red. "Sorry, I uh... I see what you mean..."

The girl looked at the precious item and then at him. "Take it."

His eyes went wide. "Are you sure? I mean... What about your mom?"

She shrugged. "We still have to go to Kacy's. I'm sure I can find something there. Good luck with your girlfriend, okay? I bet she digs it."

Arnold grinned. "Thank you! Thank you so much! Oh, I forgot, my name's Arnold."

"No sweat. I'm-"

"Daisy!" A large, rather intimidating man with a mustache and a military crew cut called out to her with a deep, thunderous voice. "You ready, sweetheart!?"

The girl, whose name was apparently Daisy, rolled her eyes. "Coming, Daddy!" She pointed back to him with her thumb. "So yeah, that's my name. Anyway... Merry Christmas, Arnold." With that she made her way back over to her dad, looking back to wave before they walked off together.

Arnold gave a sigh of relief and grabbed the treasure before anyone else could, then stood in line at the counter, a line which thankfully wasn't too long. After a guy with a really weird face tattoo and a gaudy snowman-shaped throw pillow under his arm walked off, clearly agitated about something, Arnold reached the counter and couldn't help but give the cashier a big goofy grin.

"Same as last time?"

"Yep! Well, I mean, the writing is different but yeah, same idea. You still have my name and number from before, right?" Arnold pulled out his wallet and handed him a little slip of paper.

The cashier looked over the words on the note and even he, a very bored and cranky middle-aged guy, couldn't help but smile. "Very nice. And yeah, I recognize you. You can pick it up tomorrow." The cashier rung it up and Arnold gasped, taking a step back and almost bumping into a lady waiting behind him.

"But... But wasn't everything on sale!?"

The cashier shrugged. "Change of policy, kid. Guess you cut it too close."

Arnold pulled out all the cash in his wallet and set it on the counter. "Please, mister, you can't do this. It's for Christmas! Don't you believe in miracles!?"

The cashier shrugged. Again. "Meh. Not particularly, no."

Arnold felt his eyes fill with tears. He shook his head and wrapped his arms around himself. "This can't be happening... Is there anything I can do?"

"Sorry kid."

"Will this help?"

Arnold jumped at the sound of the familiar voice in such close proximity, turning to watch as the last person he ever expected to come to his rescue did exactly that, putting down another wad of cash on top of his own. Arnold stared speechless as the ever expressive cashier shrugged for a third time, took the money, and gave him what little change there was left.

"Come back tomorrow, kid. We'll have it ready for you, gift-wrapped and everything," the cashier said dryly.

Arnold took the receipt and looked up at his unexpected savior. He felt his heart pounding heavily as the two of them stepped away from the counter, not wanting to hold up the line. Arnold still couldn't believe it. Why now? And why give him that much money?

"Um... No offense or anything, but... What are you doing here? Why did you help me?" Arnold asked nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

Arnold's last minute benefactor sighed, mimicking Arnold's nervous gesture in return. "Tell you the truth, I came for the same thing."

Arnold gulped. "You could have just waited for me to put it back... Why did you help me buy it?"

"Figured it'd mean more coming from you. Just uh, do me a favor and don't tell her... Anyway, see you around." With that, his unforseen rescuer left him alone, wandering off into the crowd.

Arnold couldn't believe his luck. Twice in a row, his plan was nearly foiled, and twice in a row, he was rewarded. As he left the store and got in the car with his grandpa, he couldn't stop the tears from filling his eyes as something dawned on him. He cried tears of joy the whole way home, never making a sound so as not to alarm his grandpa.

He realized that it wasn't luck that helped him in the end. It was his love for Helga. Once again, his Christmas Angel had given him another miracle.


	20. Hearts of Gold

**Hearts of Gold**

20\. Hearts of Gold

Christmas Eve had arrived, and the snow was coming down heavily. Arnold paced around his room for several reasons. On one hand, he was a little nervous about Helga spending the day at home. He knew how her parents could be, even around holidays like this, and with their situation being what it was, he worried that stress could bring more tension than Helga could handle. He was just glad that Olga was there with her, ready to get her out of there if things get difficult.

But that wasn't what made him the most nervous.

Arnold kept going over the plan over and over in his head, making sure everything was right. Both parts of her gift were ready and wrapped, hidden safely in his backpack for now. He checked with his family to make sure that no one would need the Packard tomorrow. Everything was in place.

He jumped at a sudden knock on the door, then let out a sigh of relief at the familiar sound of his grandfather's laughter.

"Who'd you think it was, Jacob Marley!?"

Arnold smirked and rolled his eyes. "Very funny, Grandpa." Arnold sat on his bed as Phil pulled his desk chair over, sitting backwards and folding his arms over the back and resting his head over them.

"What's on your mind, Short Man?"

"Well... I just want to make sure everything is perfect, that's all. Do you think she'll really like it?"

"Like it? Arnold, she's gonna be over the moon!" Phil said as he waved his hand in the air for emphasis. "I got an idea. How about you and me go for a drive? That way you'll know that _I know_ my way to the spot you picked out." He scratched his head then, glancing away for a moment. "Not sure why you want to go _there_ to give her your present, but... What do I know, right?"

Arnold smiled and got up off his bed. "That sounds like a great idea." After his grandpa left him alone to start the Packard and get it warmed up, Arnold got ready and went downstairs. Before long he and his grandpa were off, driving leisurely down the road, the wipers batting away the snow as fast as they could.

* * *

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Helga sighed.

"What do you mean? Your mother loves these things," Bob said as he held up the set of scented glass jar candles. "Look, there's one from each of us. The big one in the middle's from me, of course, and the other two are from you girls."

Helga rolled her eyes. "When has mom ever given a crap about scented candles? I haven't heard her mention them once, Dad."

"Maybe if you were home more often you'd have noticed," he snarled. Helga winced and crossed her arms, turning away with a scowl on her face. Olga reached over and touched her shoulder reassuringly.

"To be perfectly honest, Daddy, I haven't heard much from her about candles either... But I'm sure she'll absolutely love them. Right, Helga?" Olga hoped that she'd be able to keep the peace by playing to both of them.

Helga did have to admit, as much as it annoyed her that Bob decided to take charge of their gifts to their mother, she was glad that she wouldn't have to worry about it herself. "Yeah, she probably will."

"Good," Bob said with a sigh of relief. "Candles like these happen to really relax your mother, you know."

Helga couldn't help but laugh sardonically. "If we wanted to relax her, we should have got her a case of bull tranquilizers to add to her smoothie recipe."

Bob cringed, feeling the urge to shout her down. However he closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, releasing as much tension as he could. "Not now, Helga. Why don't you just...go, uh, make sure your other gifts are ready."

Helga cast a knowing glance at Olga for a moment. She was glad that when Olga picked her up from Arnold's house yesterday, Olga brought her to the store before going home and gave her enough money to buy the remaining gifts she needed, from her dad and her sister to Phoebe, whom she felt she would have to call later. "Actually, my other gifts _are_ ready. But I'm pretty much done here anyway, so. Later, I guess." Helga got up, walked out of Olga's room and down the hall to her own.

Though she had their gifts sitting comfortably under her bed, now that she had the freaking space for them, it was the gift that wasn't there that was on her mind. She was starting to worry that it wasn't enough. That Arnold might not even read them. Sitting on her bed, she started to tap her fingers anxiously as the stress started to take over. Before long she couldn't handle it anymore and had to pull out her phone to call her familiar source of guidance.

"Hey, Helga! How's-"

"PHOEBE!" Helga interrupted loudly. "Phoebe I need your input on something. I have a gift for Arnold, ready to go, and I need to know what you think."

Phoebe stifled a laugh, amused that Helga was so worried over what would surely work out wonderfully. "Go on, Helga."

"I wasn't sure what to give him this year, so I went with something really, really personal...my poetry collection. Most of which is about him. Practically all of it, actually. He'll have access to everything I've felt for years, put into words the only way I really know how. Just... My innermost thoughts and feelings laid bare. Everything I-"

"I understand, Helga."

"So...what do you think?"

There was a pause on the other line. Helga bit her lip, hoping she hadn't screwed things up on an epic level. "I'm sure he'll really love it, Helga. You have no reason to be worried. However..."

"I knew it!" Helga shouted as she threw herself back onto her bed. "It's terrible! Just terrible! I should have known better, but now there's no time! What am I going to do!? What am I-"

"Helga."

"...Sorry."

"I think you should write him a brand new one, too. You can do it."

Helga's eyes widened as she slowly sat up. She pulled the phone away from her ear to check the time. After dinner, there was only so much time before bed. Even less if her dad insisted on watching that dumb old movie where that kid whined about getting an air rifle or whatever, since it was on all freaking day. She put the phone back to her ear and swallowed hard. "Do you think I can pull it off, Phoebe...?"

"If anyone can do it, you can," she said confidently. "I believe in you, Helga."

Helga smiled and rolled her eyes. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't nervous, but at least she felt reassured. She was glad that at the least, her initial idea wasn't a bust. With that settled she decided to change the subject. "How are things your way? Gerald still being a pain in the neck?"

Phoebe sighed wistfully. "He's better, actually. I think his parents' fighting is still bothering him, but he's not really cranky so much anymore. He's just been...quiet."

"Quiet, huh? How so?"

"Well, I keep catching him staring off into the distance a lot, with this sad look on his face. He tells me he's not sad, but I know him. Plus he's been really...clingy lately. I don't mind, but I can tell he needs me right now."

"Yikes. I'm surprised he hasn't talked to Arnold about it."

"Yeah..." Phoebe didn't have the heart to mention her theory that on top of the issues with his family, Gerald probably missed Arnold. And it was no mystery why Arnold was so preoccupied lately.

"Well... I hope...that...he gets...that he gets better...er, feels better. Criminy, you know what I mean." Helga rolled her eyes and sat up, deciding to grab a new blank poetry book and a pen.

"Thanks." As Helga clicked her pen over and over, Phoebe must have overheard. "Have you started writing? You really should write with a pencil."

Helga sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you, if I'm going to write something from the depths of my soul, I can't give myself the chance to change it. It needs to represent what I was feeling in the moment I wrote it."

Phoebe rolled her eyes, not that Helga could see it. "Whatever you say, Helga."

"I do hope the Tall Hair Boy does feel better though. I know how it is, lame parents and everything. Sometimes worse..."

"Thank you, Helga. I'll let him know that."

"No problem. Anyway, I better get to work before it's time to eat. Later, Pheebs. And thanks for your help."

"You're welcome, Helga. Goodbye, and Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, Phoebe." With that, Helga hung up the phone and stared at the page.

She knew it shouldn't have been as difficult as it was. Writing poems about Arnold should have been as easy as breathing. So why was she feeling so blocked up, she wondered? She knew she loved him now more than ever before. He was her rock, keeping her tethered to the world. If not for him, she might have sunk into a despair that she never would have recovered from. He was the light in her life. So why was it so difficult to write a poem for him now, when it had been so easy for all these years?

That's when it hit her: she never did write a poem for him. Every poem she wrote was for herself. Sometimes, if they were discrete enough, she would submit them "anonymously" for English assignments at school. They were never written with the idea that she would personally give them to him. She started to feel the panic return to her and reached for the locket in her shirt.

But it wasn't there.

Her heart began to ache, not just for the locket but for him, knowing that he could make her feel better if only he was there. But she couldn't even do so much as call him, since the whole point was to figure out _his_ gift. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to think of something, anything, that could soothe her. Soon, she conjured a vision that had calmed her many times before.

In her mind, she saw his eyes. The way he looked at her when he told her he would never hate her. When he told her that he could never imagine a life without her. When he washed away the fake blood on her face and told her she was beautiful, inside and out. When her whole world collapsed around her, and her heart felt so broken she thought she would die, and he wrapped his arms around her and told her he would never let her go.

When he told her he loved her.

Her eyes burst open, and like a girl possessed she began to write.

* * *

Arnold smiled as he watched out the window. A soft jazz number played over the radio as they sat in silence, an instrumental duet between the gentle, steady notes of the piano and the questioning, wandering breeze of the saxophone. As their dance went on, they were soon joined by the soothing sounds of the violins, only amplifying their voices as they found each other.

After all the time that had passed, Arnold still knew this route well.

Arnold's eyes lit up as they reached their destination, and he let out a romantic sigh. He remembered this place like it was only yesterday. "Thanks for taking me here, Grandpa. I actually feel a lot better. It's like... I don't know, it's just nice to have a reminder what this is all about."

"You're welcome, Arnold. Heh, you know I think I just remembered why you picked this place. You sure she'll remember?"

Arnold laughed. "I know she will..."

* * *

Stinky took a step back to look at his work. "You think she'll like it, Pa?"

Elmer Peterson scratched his head and adjusted his glasses. "Well, son, I still think a taxidermied weasel's the way to go, but... You probably know your little lady friend better than I do. I'm sure she'll like it just fine."

Stinky grinned with pride. "Now I just gotta wrap it."

Elmer shrugged and reached up to rub the back of his neck. "Sorry, Stinky. I used the last bit of newspaper for the fireplace, 'bout an hour ago."

Stinky sighed. "Dang it... There's gotta be something around here I can use."

"Well son, if you need me, I'll be in the tanning bed."

With that, Stinky began to look through the house, searching for something, anything. They didn't have a tablecloth. Paper towels was a bad idea. Wrapping it in pants seemed too weird. He didn't have any socks that were big enough. He thought about bringing it to her in his backpack, but that didn't feel special enough. Still, he was getting closer.

He sat on the edge of his bed and pondered, sighing as he grabbed the spare blanket from the foot of his bed and wrapped it around himself... And then it hit him. He quickly pulled the blanket out in front of him and looked it over. It was a little old, but it was clean and still very cozy, and it would surely serve the purpose he required of it.

Stinky quickly went back downstairs and grabbed his gift carefully, wrapping the blanket around it until it sat bundled up perfectly. It was then that he tried taping the blanket, which...did not work out so well. Not wanting it to fall apart so easily, he figured he'd have to put it in something. A quick glance around the room and he found just the thing, a wicker basket sitting unused in the closet.

With that settled it was finally ready. Stinky relaxed, sitting in his rocking chair and tossing his head back, soothed by the crackling sounds of the fireplace.

* * *

Rhonda sat on the yellow couch with her arms crossed as her parents sat with her and watched _It's A Wonderful Life_ on their brand new, very expensive big screen TV while a pile of other gifts sat under their very large Christmas tree.

"Why do we have to watch this? It's boring," Rhonda grumbled.

"Now, now, darling. This film is a classic, you'll see."

She rolled her eyes and glanced over at the tree, and all the fancy expensive gifts that surely lay under it. Flashy gifts that would surely uphold her perception of herself as a rich, classy young woman with the latest and greatest in fashion and technology. She may as well be a princess.

A hollow, gilded princess. And to make matters worse, she didn't realize how fragile she really was until she was broken. As the film went on, she began to wonder herself, what would life be like for everyone else if she hadn't been born? Of course, for her the question was rhetorical. She knew almost everyone would be much happier.

"Mom?"

"Yes, honey?" Brooke asked quietly with a tilt of her head, noticing that Rhonda didn't call her "mommy" like she usually did.

"Am I...a good daughter?"

Brooke and Buckley both looked at each other, and then at her. "Of course you are, sweetheart. You're the most special, wonderful daughter we could ever ask for."

Rhonda sighed at that, not comforted at all. "That's not what I mean. I mean..." She stood up and gestured to the gifts under the tree. "Every year you get me the most amazing things. Not even just for Christmas. You do it all year round. Just... You always make sure I have the latest and greatest in fashion, technology, whatever shallow, superficial thing I ask for. And the funny thing is? No matter how expensive it is, I know that we are so freaking rich that we actually _could_ afford to replace it. If my phone broke right now, beyond repair, I'd have a new one by tomorrow anyway."

Buckley did a double take and then turned to Brooke. "Did you tell her?" Brooke shook her head.

"When's the last time you ever gave me something irreplaceable? Something that really mattered? Not because it was rare, or custom made, but because it really meant something?"

Brooke and Buckley both gasped, their daughter having snatched the air right out of them. After a pause, Buckley got up from the couch and walked over to her, kneeling down beside her. "Honey... Your mother and I try very hard to make you happy. You're our princess, not because we're rich but because we love you. Now tell us, what is this really all about?"

Rhonda closed her eyes and took a deep breath, lowering her head as she walked back to the couch and sat down. Buckley followed her, sitting beside her where he was. Both her parents leaned forward with her, each wrapping an arm around her to try and comfort her through whatever it was that was troubling her.

"Is it something at school, honey?" Brooke asked with a gentle voice.

Rhonda nodded slowly. "Yeah. Actually, it is... There's this girl. She's...a huge bully. Always yelling, bossing people around. She thinks she's so much better than everyone else, and the thing is? Sometimes people think she's not so bad. But I know better. I know deep down she's just...rotten..."

Brooke nodded and glanced at Buckley, glad to be making progress. "What's her name, sweetheart?"

Rhonda closed her eyes tightly, pulling her knees up onto the couch and close to her chest, curling into a ball.

"It's alright, honey, you can tell us. What's her name...?" Buckley added.

She swallowed hard as the tears she fought so hard to hold in, to hide from everyone, finally broke free. At last she whispered, "Rhonda..."

Her parents didn't hesitate to embrace her. She turned into her mother's arms wept into her hands. Her father wrapped his arms around both of them.

"I wish I was never born," Rhonda sobbed. "I feel so worthless..."

"Honey... Sweetheart, don't say that... You're not worthless. You're...you're our miracle baby..." Brooke looked up at Buckley, and though he was clearly nervous to finally tell Rhonda, they both knew it was time. "Honey, we're very lucky to have you... Before you were born, your father and I were having such a hard time with...well, trying to have a baby. We did everything we could. We traveled everywhere, talked to the best doctors, and...nothing was working."

Rhonda looked up at her, and then at her father, confused but curious to learn more. "Keep going..."

"At one point we even considered adopting. We almost took another little girl home with us, but...they changed their minds," her father said quietly with a little shrug. "To be honest, we didn't tell them but...we did too. We wanted a little girl of our very own."

"And then, a week later..." Brooke gave her a warm smile. "We found out we were going to have you. Just like that, our wish came true."

"You see, honey... Some families, they don't have very much. Life's hard for them. And some people don't get to have families. But we were blessed with both, and we swore we'd never, ever take that for granted."

Rhonda took all this in with a deep breath. "So I almost...wasn't here..."

"And if you want to know what life was like, thinking we'd never have you? It was... Rhonda, honey, it was so hard for us, I hope you never know what that's like when the time comes..." Brooke slowly rubbed her back in circles as she continued, "You're here now, and we're here for you too. So if you ever need to talk to someone, you can come to us."

"That's right, dear. I know sometimes we may be busy, and maybe we're not always the best at reading the room, but if you come to us, we will listen. If you don't want to be the Rhonda you just told us about, we're here to help however we can. Okay?"

Rhonda nodded slowly and looked up at both of them. "Thank you... I'm sorry I was weird before, I... I really needed this..."

"You're welcome, sweetheart."

The three of them embraced each other in a group hug, and though Rhonda's guilt had not left her, she no longer felt alone.

* * *

The sun fell. Families across Hillwood had their dinner. Children went to bed while the adults secretly put out the gifts that "Santa" brought. When the sun rose the next morning, Christmas came with it.

As soon as Stinky woke up, he showered and got dressed up to go outside and begged his pa to drive him to Lila's house with her gift. Elmer was still quite tired, but he put on his boots and his jacket and went outside, followed by an elated Stinky, and hopped in the driver's seat as Stinky got in beside him. However with each turn of the key, the old pickup truck would not start. Stinky's excitement gave way to horror as he watched his pa go out and check under the hood.

Stinky prayed that the truck could be fixed, that whatever his pa did under the hood would fix it and he'd get right back in the truck beside him and drive off. But that didn't happen. His pa came around to the passenger side and opened his door.

"Sorry, Stinky. I'm afraid I can't get her to run just yet..."

"Aw, gee..." Stinky said in a defeated tone, closing his eyes and beginning to lower his head...and then he stopped. He looked up, eyes narrow with determination. He got out of the truck, grabbed the basket, and started walking down the sidewalk, through the deep snow and against the icy cold wind.

"Tell Ma I'll be home before too long," Stinky called back to his Pa.

"Well, alright then, son," Elmer said as he scratched his head. Under his breath he mumbled, "My boy's a dang fool... Heck, I'm proud of him anyway."

* * *

Arnold took a deep breath and walked downstairs, still wearing his pajamas. When he woke up, all he could think about was Helga. Would she like it? He worried it might be a little weird and she'd give him a funny look. He could hear her voice now. _"I didn't think you were that kind of guy, Football Head."_ But as he went over everything that's happened over the last several months, he could only smile, and the excitement came back to him.

He walked into the living room, and was suddenly struck by the sight of his parents, waiting for him by the tree.

"Good morning, honey! Merry Christmas!" His mom said in a cheery tone.

"Merry Christmas, Arnold!" His dad added.

For a moment he wondered if he was dreaming again, but he quickly remembered that it was no dream at all. It was Christmas morning, and his parents were here. He rushed up to them and hugged them both, as if he'd only just gotten them back.

Stella and Miles knelt down then to hug him in return.

"I know you've been back for a little while now, it's just... It's Christmas, and..."

"We understand, Arnold." Stella leaned back and stroked his cheek. "C'mon, we got you something special."

His parents stood up and the three of them went over to the couch. Miles started to hand over their gift, but it was snatched out of his hand. "Hey!"

"What in the heck do you think you're doing!? Giving the boy his presents before we show up!" Phil said as he pointed a finger at Miles, who sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Merry Christmas, Dad. And...Mom?" Miles blinked as his mother came in wearing a dirty old Santa suit and a goat head mask instead of a Santa beard, and while she did hold a sack full of presents over her shoulder with one hand, she carried an old fashioned switch made of twigs and branches in the other.

"That's Krampus to you, kiddo! The beast of Yuletide! You're not being _naughty_ on Christmas, are you?" She rattled the switch at him in a way that actually gave him the chills.

"Um... No, I... I'm a good boy," Miles said with a gulp.

"D'oh! Pookie, stop scaring the boy and get over here so we can do Christmas!" Phil yelled.

Stella glanced down at Arnold and whispered, "Just think, I married into this." They both chuckled a little as Phil and Gert- er, _Krampus_ walked over and gathered around.

"Well, Arnold, since your parents are waiting to give you their gift," Phil said as they both rolled their eyes, "Here's something special from your grandma and I." He handed Arnold a little tin box and stood back to watch.

Arnold opened it and his eyes went wide, pulling out a very nice, old fashioned wrist watch. "Oh wow... Was this yours, Grandpa?"

"Yep! Your grandma and I got it all fixed up nice just for you, Short Man. Although, to be honest I never wore it. I was going to give it to your dad, but... Well, anyhow, I figured I was supposed to give it to you all along, and now's the right time. I think. Actually you might want to check that."

"Thanks, you guys." Arnold beamed up at them before strapping it to his wrist. He stood up to hug them both. He didn't even mind that his grandma's creepy stick thing was poking him in the ribs a little bit.

"You're welcome, Arnold. Now, let's see what your mom and dad got."

Arnold sat back down and, for the second time, Miles handed him their gift, moving slowly as he kept his eye on his mom. "We really hope you like this, Arnold. We thought long and hard and, well... I got my first one when I was your age, and it's time you had one too."

Arnold gulped as he slowly tore away the wrapping paper, and he smiled wide. He looked up at them both, and then back at the brand new, leather-bound journal in his hands. "Oh, wow..."

"You've told us some pretty amazing stories since we've been back, and we just know you're going to have a lot more. You're going to want to hold on to those memories, Arnold. One day you'll want to share them."

A tear rolled down Arnold's face as he hugged the journal to his chest. "Thank you so much. I'll write in it every day, starting today."

Stella leaned down and kissed his forehead with a smile. "Merry Christmas, Arnold."

Arnold couldn't be happier as his parents embraced him. This was the best Christmas ever, he thought, and it wasn't even over yet!

Just then Phil noticed a plate of cookies on the stand next to the couch. He grinned and reached over to grab one, only to be smacked in the hand with a bundle of sticks. "Ow! What in the heck did you do that for, Pookie!?"

"Those cookies are for Sinterklaas, you naughty boy!"

"I ain't no stinkin' boy, Pookie, and it's pronounced Santa Claus! Heck, he didn't even eat any of 'em! Why can't I have just one!?"

She poked him in the belly with the switch them, causing him to jump back. "Why, you've have enough treats this year!"

Phil howled and started to chase her around the room. Arnold and his parents rolled their eyes and laughed, watching the hilarious scene as the boarders came down, took one look, and went back to their rooms.

* * *

Bob walked into the room with big grin on his face and his arms crossed, wearing his brand new big white belt with pride. "What do you think!? Isn't this thing just the greatest!?"

"Awww, it's very nice, honey!" Miriam said enthusiastically. "Which of you girls got him that anyway?"

Helga gulped. She wanted to tell them that it was Olga, his favorite, who got him the new big white belt he was so weirdly attached to after his old one had fallen into such disrepair that he could no longer wear it. But before she could pass the buck to her, Olga spoke up.

"Actually, Daddy, it was Helga. She knew you missed the old one." Olga smiled and rubbed Helga's back as Helga gave an awkward smile and tried to think of a way she could kill Olga without ruining Christmas.

"Really? You did that for me?" Bob gulped, thinking back to a month ago. The irony, that Helga still wanted replace something he cherished after he threw away something even more valuable to her, was not lost on him. He put on an awkward smile to rival Helga's as he walked over to her. "Thank you. This is, uh, really nice of you." He opened his arms to hug her for a moment, but then tried to pass it off as something else, too certain that she'd reject him.

Helga sighed. She didn't like it, but she knew what she had to do. Though her heartbeat quickened slightly and memories of a month ago flashed in her head, she stood up from the couch and gave her dad as warm a hug as she could, hoping he wouldn't notice how nervous she was. "Merry Christmas, Dad..." As he hugged her back, Olga quietly held her phone up and snapped a photo of it. She and her mom looked at each other with tears in their eyes.

"Thanks, honey..."

Their hug didn't last too long, of course, and when they parted they tried to play it off like it was no big deal. Helga took a deep breath as she sat back down beside her sister, reaching over to take Olga's hand and squeezing it gently. Olga understood what she needed, and looked at their parents.

"Well, I think Helga and I should open our gifts to each other now so I can bring her to Arnold's house. I know she's anxious to find out what he got her. Is that alright, Daddy?"

To everyone's surprise, Bob sighed and gave them a nod. "Yeah, I have to run out soon myself." He glanced over at Miriam then. "Nothing major, don't worry. I won't be too long. Just a, uh...quick sale."

"Alright then, honey." Miriam said with a shrug, a little confused but too happy to really question it. "Now then, you girls open the gifts you gave each other. I'm excited for both of you!"

Helga swallowed hard as she handed Olga her box first. "I hope it's okay. I asked Mom for your size so I really hope it fits..."

Olga was curious about that as she unwrapped the box and opened it up. She gasped, first pulling out a white sun hat and then a lovely pink sun dress with thin white stripes. "Oh my gosh! It's so beautiful!"

Helga sighed with relief. "That's not all, actually. I uh, got one too. The dress that is. Not really a hat person. So..." She smiled awkwardly. "The point is, I know how much you love it when we wear matching things, for whatever reason, so... This time I picked the outfit."

Bob leaned over to Miriam and whispered, "How'd she find that stuff in the winter time anyway?"

Miriam shrugged. "Budnick's always did seem like an odd store to me. Maybe it was on sale since it was out of season?" At that they both shrugged.

Olga quickly retaliated with her famous finishing move in which she wrapped her arms around Helga in a tight embrace, squeezing the life out of her like a python suffocating its prey before devouring it. "Oh, Baby Sister! I love it so much! I love it I love it I love it! Thank you!"

"Olga..."

"Yes, Baby Sister!?"

"I'm...about...to die...on Christmas..."

"Oh." Olga giggled as she released Helga, who coughed and caught her breath. Once her vital signs stabilized and she knew she was going to live after all, Olga handed her gift over. It was small, almost flat. Helga could tell just by tossing it over in her hands that it was a framed picture of some kind.

Helga tore the wrapping paper off and her eyes widened. There, in simple but elegant silver frame, was a photo not unlike the one she'd seen from the album a month ago. It was a photo of her, as a baby, wrapped up in a pink blanket and held in loving arms. Only this photo was from another angle, and revealed to her that it wasn't her mother after all. It was Olga.

Helga looked at Olga, dumbstruck, and then at the photo again. "That's us..."

"Yes, Baby Sister. That's us..." Olga leaned over and put her arm around Helga's shoulders as Helga's eyes widened, having noticed something peculiar in the photo.

"Wait... Is that...?" She reached up and felt the bow on her head as she stared down at the very same bow in the photo. Only it was Olga who wore it then.

"That was your first Christmas gift," Olga whispered as she leaned over and kissed her temple, hugging her once more, only this time more gently. "You were _always_ wanted, Baby Sister..."

Helga turned and threw her arms around Olga's waist, hugging her as tightly as she could. Olga was taken by surprise at that, but she figured it was her turn this time and simply hugged Helga back.

"Thank you," Helga whispered. "I... I love you...Big Sister..."

Olga smiled and kissed the top of her head. "I love you too, Helga..."

Bob and Miriam both smiled at the tender moment before them. Miriam reached up to wipe the tears from her eyes and looked over at Bob. "I don't know about you, but that right there is the best gift I've gotten in a long time."

Bob nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's pretty nice, huh. Those two finally getting along. It's about time."

When their embrace finally broke, Helga took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. "Okay. So... Arnold's house. Are you ready?"

Olga nodded. "Yep! I can't stay too long, though. I want to come back, keep Mommy some company while Daddy's out. Okay?"

Helga shrugged. "Alright then. Let's go." The two of them both got up and walked off to their rooms to get ready. Of course Helga was ready first. She rolled her eyes as she stood by the door and waited, but she couldn't stop smiling anyway. Olga finally came out, and after another brief hug, the two of them said their goodbyes and went out to Olga's car.

* * *

"So, what do you think, honey?" Brooke asked as Rhonda opened the last of her gifts under the tree. "I know you don't wear them very much, but... We just had to get you another pair."

Rhonda smiled. As she had been all morning, she was happy. A bit more reserved than usual, but she wore a smile anyway. She held up her latest pair of designer glasses, custom made for her of course, and let out a little sigh of contentment. "I love them, Mom. And actually, I think I am going to wear these more often."

"Really? That's wonderful, honey." Brooke smiled and looked over at Buckley, who gave a knowing wink at her. She smirked a bit and rolled her eyes, thankful that at the very least he wouldn't say "I told you so" in front of Rhonda.

"Why don't you try them on so we can see?" Buckley added instead.

"Alright," Rhonda said with a shrug as she got up and went off to the bathroom, glasses in hand. She carefully removed her contact lenses and put her new glasses on, taking a moment to look at herself in the mirror.

For the first time in a long time she could stand to look at herself, but she was taken aback by how grown up she looked, in spite of being in her pajamas that is. She turned her head from side to side, inspecting not only how the glasses looked on her but also the structure of her face, her eyes, her hair. It was then she realized that growing up meant becoming someone new. For her, it meant a chance to become someone better.

She took a deep breath and walked out, going back to the living room and standing in front of her parents. "I like them. What do you guys think?"

"Well, I'd say they look wonderful, darling. Wouldn't you agree?" Buckley asked with a glance over at Brooke.

"Oh, absolutely! You look truly stunning, really sophisticated."

Rhonda sighed and smiled at them. "I suppose I do, don't I?" She gulped then and gave them a little shrug. "Is it okay if I go back to my room for a little while?"

Her parents blinked, a little surprised, but they understood quickly and nodded. "Of course you can, honey. Is everything alright? Anything you wanted to talk to us about?"

Rhonda shook her head. "No, I'm okay. Thanks for checking, though. I'll see you guys a little later." She leaned down to hug them both and smiled. "Merry Christmas..." Her dad hugged her extra tight, her mom kissed her forehead, and with that she went off to her room.

As she approached her bedroom door, she felt her heartbeat quicken. As much as she did want some alone time, she was also curious to finally see what was left in her locker. She walked into her room and immediately leaned down to pull that final gift out from under her bed. As she sat on the edge of her bed, she pulled the note off and set it aside, first wanting to open the gift itself.

She tore the wrapping paper off quickly and gasped at the sight. It was neither a poster, nor a painting, nor a photograph. Though it could have been one. There in her hands was a hand drawn portrait of her, so detailed and precise that it nearly resembled a black and white photo. Not only was every detail carefully considered, but her likeness was captured with perfect accuracy. From the look in her eyes to the gentle smile on her lips, this was a Rhonda who was truly happy, the most beautiful reflection of her that she had ever seen. And it was all done by hand.

Quickly she set the portrait down and grabbed the note. As she unfolded it, she gasped and her eyes went wide as she read the unsigned note aloud. "Not worthless. _Priceless_..." She took her glasses off and rubbed her eyes, holding the note to her chest as if to hold those words in her heart and never let them go.

Though it was still a mystery to her, she knew that somewhere out there, someone cared enough to remind her that she was worth something. That she was worth so much time, and so much effort, that they would create by hand the image of the Rhonda she longed to be.

The Rhonda she could still be. "Priceless," she whispered as she smiled widely, even giving a little laugh as tears of joy ran down her face.

* * *

Stinky shivered as he kept walking, step by step, down the snow-covered streets of Hillwood. Despite the cold and the wind and the snow, he kept a pretty good pace. Still, he had plenty more ground to cover, and he was freezing. He hoped he'd dressed warm enough to avoid getting frostbite, having wrapped his scarf around his face and pulled his hat down low to cover his large, sensitive ears. Still, his huge nose kept poking out from behind the scarf, leaving him to keep fixing it every minute or two.

A sharp gust of wind swept right over him, blowing a bunch of snow right into his face. He wiped his eyes and squinted as he just kept walking. "This...really...bites..."

"Hey, Stinky!"

Stinky spun around, looking all around him until he saw someone unexpected. "Harold?" He realized he was on Harold's street then, as Harold stood on the stoop of his house in his pajamas, slippers, and a winter coat so he didn't get too cold.

"What are you doing out here? It's Christmas!" Harold said as he threw up his hands for emphasis.

"I'm bringing Lila-... I'm...bringing someone a gift." Stinky sighed, Harold's last words to him still fresh in his memory. "Well, see you later, Harold." Stinky started to walk away, but Harold called out to him and stopped him in his tracks.

"Wait!" Harold went back inside, leaving Stinky to stand there a little dumbstruck. He came back out with a brand new bike. Realizing what he was doing, Stinky walked up to the stoop and Harold handed it down to him.

"Gee, thanks Harold! You didn't have to get me anything!"

"I'm not giving it to you!" Harold shouted. "I just got it for Hanukkah this year! I'm just letting you borrow it. And, I'm sorry about what I said before. You're not just a dumb hick..." Harold shuffled his feet bashfully before putting on his usual front. "Anyway you better bring it back in good condition, 'cause if you don't, I'm gonna pound ya!"

Stinky rolled his eyes and smiled anyway. "Thanks, Harold. Merry Chewbacca!" Stinky make sure the basket was secure on the handlebars and rode off.

"It's Hanukkah, dummy! Not Chewbacca! And Hanukkah's already over this year and he can't hear me anymore can he?" Harold shrugged and quickly went back inside.

Stinky covered much more ground as he quickly rode down the street, thankful that the roads had already been plowed enough that the snow wasn't too deep to ride on. He took a note to bring sunglasses or goggles or something next time he planned on riding a bike in the winter. Come to think of it, he realized he actually had a bike of his own and could have saved a lot of time if he'd remembered to grab it.

Finally he reached Lila's house, and after hiding the bike behind the garbage cans, he walked up to the front door and knocked, basket in hand.

Lila's father opened the door and gasped at the sight of the shivering boy. "Howdy, Mr. Sawyer," Stinky said through his scarf. "Is Lila home?"

Her father scratched his head, confused by that question. "Uh... Yes, she's home. Come in, you must be freezing," the man said with a warm voice. "I'm Daniel Sawyer, Lila's dad. Are you Stinky?" he asked as he opened the door for him. Stink walked in and took his hat and scarf off, letting out a sigh of relief.

"I sure hope not! I did take my shower this morning, just before I came."

Daniel just stared at him. "I mean, are you Lila's friend, Stinky?"

"Oh!" Stinky laughed and nodded. "Yes sir, Mr. Sawyer! That's my name, Stinky Peterson."

Daniel gave him a warm smile. "She's told me a lot about you. Let's get you out of those dirty old snow clothes and warm you up a bit." As Stinky started to remove the heavy outer layers he wore the whole way there, Daniel made sure there was a nice warm blanket for him on the couch. "I know just the thing to warm you up. I'll tell Lila you're here and make some hot tea for us."

Stinky walked over, set the basket down on the coffee table, and sat on the couch, wrapping the blanket around himself and trying not to let his teeth chatter too much. Daniel called up the stairs to Lila and then walked off to the kitchen, and quickly Lila came down in her robe and pajamas. She gasped at the sight of him.

"Stinky? What are you doing here?" She asked as she went over to him. She had a big smile at first, but it dimmed a little when she saw just how cold he was. She looked over by the doorway and saw the very dirty outer clothes he'd shed a moment ago, and then took his face in her hands. "Stinky, you're freezing. Are you alright? How did you get here?"

Stinky smiled and shrugged, soothed by the warmth of her hands. "Well, I walked most of the way."

Lila gasped. "Oh, Stinky... Why did you..." She noticed then that there was a basket on the coffee table that hadn't been there earlier. "Did you bring that...?"

Stinky nodded. "I had to make sure you got your present."Lila looked down at it, then back up at him.

"Oh gosh, thank you ever so much!" She said with a big grin. "But first, let me go get your gift, alright?" She got up and walked into the kitchen, coming back with a lidded cake pan, along with a little paper plate and a fork and knife.

Stinky tilted his head. "You got me something too?" In all his excitement to bring Lila her gift, he forgot all about the idea that he might actually receive a gift of some kind too. Matter of fact, he even forgot to find out what his parents got him. But it didn't matter to him. Lila was more important.

"I really hope you like it," she said as she handed it over to him. "I worked ever so hard to get it just right." He carefully set it down on his lap and lifted the lid. He immediately smiled ear to ear, noticing a rather lovely round, unfrosted cake with powdered sugar sprinkled on top. "You made me a cake?"

"Not just any kind of cake," Lila said with a big, knowing smile. "Try it."

Stinky took the fork and knife and cut out a piece small enough for him to jab with his fork. He couldn't help noticing a familiar scent as he carefully put it in his mouth. His eyes widened.

"Holy smokes! It's a lemon pudding cake!" Stinky looked at her with his eyes lit up and a big smile on his face. Lila giggled as he took another bite, savoring it. "It's amazing! How in the heck did you make this!?"

"I found the recipe in one of Mommy's old cook books. I wrote it down for you too, so you can try making it at home if you want." She let out a sigh of relief, smiling widely as she watched him. "I'm ever so thankful that you enjoy it. I knew lemon pudding was your favorite, so I wanted to learn how to make it just for you. And now you can make it on your own, if you'd like."

Stinky put the lid back down hesitantly, wanting very much to gobble up the whole thing but knowing he'd regret not having more later. "Thank you, Lila! Thank you so, so much! I love it. I love it, and you made it so gosh darn perfect, I sure hope you make it again for me some time!"

Lila giggled and nodded. "Sure, Stinky. I would love to." With that Stinky set the pan down on the coffee table and grabbed the basket, handing it over to her.

"Careful. The real gift's inside the blanket. I couldn't wrap it, so... But you can still keep the blanket. And the basket, actually. It's all yours."

Lila nodded slowly, noticing something a little hefty at the center of the bundled up blanket as she lifted it out of the basket. She held the blanket to her face and smiled, the scent of it reminding her of him. Carefully she then set the blanket down and unfolded it.

Her eyes widened as she lifted up a gorgeous, hand carved and beautifully finished wooden pony sculpture. She turned it over in her hands, looking over all the fine details, from the eyes to the strands of hair from the long, lustrous mane, sculpted to look like it was blowing in the wind.

"Stinky... Where ever did you find something so beautiful?" Lila asked with tears in her eyes.

"I made it specially for you, Lila. You...really like it?"

"Oh, Stinky, I absolutely adore it!" Lila set it down against the blanket, leaned over and threw her arms around him, hugging him tight. "Thank you ever so much! I... I can't believe you made it yourself! No one's ever done something like that for me..."

Stinky smiled and hugged her back. "Anything for you, Lila. I reckon I just wanted to make you happy."

"You have such a big heart..." Lila then lifted her head up and kissed his cheek before whispering, "That's what makes you special..."

Stinky grinned widely, hugging her tightly as he gently swayed with her in his arms. Daniel smiled at them both from the doorway, letting them have their special little moment. Stinky finally knew that he wouldn't be alone, that he found someone who didn't see him as just a dumb hick. To her, he truly was special.

Holding her there in his arms, he felt like he was truly somewhere over the rainbow.

* * *

When Helga arrived at Arnold's house, her heart was racing a mile a minute. She and Olga went inside and greeted everyone warmly. Hugs were given. Gifts were exchanged. Helga was certainly happy to see everyone, but she noticed something a little odd: Arnold wasn't downstairs. She checked with his parents, and he'd already opened the gifts he got from everyone else. So she knew he was awake.

Then they told her that he wanted to see her upstairs, in his room. She gulped a little at that, looking over by the stairs nervously. Olga checked with her to make sure she was alright, and she reassured her that she was. Of course she was mostly trying to reassure herself. Olga then said her goodbyes and promised to stop by for a longer visit soon, and with that Helga had no more excuses.

It was time.

She took a deep breath, found the box that she'd left hidden there, and carried it up to Arnold's room. And of course the door was closed.

"Hey. Uh... Arnold? A little help here? Hands are full. Box is slipping. Help!" she called out to him from the other side of the door. Arnold quickly opened up and she walked inside, setting the box down in his desk chair. "Thank you."

"Hey, Helga." Arnold smiled at her, but Helga noticed he had a nervous energy about him. She could guess right away that he was probably pacing around as he waited for her.

"Hey... You okay there, Arnoldo? Need me to open a window or something?" She tried to hide her own nervousness behind some dark humor of course, but she understood where Arnold was coming from.

"Yeah, yeah I'm okay. I'm good," Arnold said with a shrug. He cleared his throat as he sat down on his fancy red couch, gesturing for her to join him. She wheeled the chair over by him, not wanting to lift that freaking box again, and sat down beside him.

"So, how's Christmas so far? Anything cool?" Helga asked nonchalantly.

"Oh, yeah. It's been..." Arnold trailed off for a moment as he suddenly became calm, and a warm smile formed on his face as he looked away in thought. "Amazing. Having my parents here, after all these years... Helga I know I've thanked you a million times already, but thank you so much for making this all possible." He reached over and touched her hand, looking into her eyes as his smile grew. "You really are my guardian angel, you know that?"

Helga gulped as she stared into his eyes. As he grew more calm, she only got more nervous. She gulped and gave him a nervous smile as her face turned red. "Thank you, Arnold..." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Sooo... You want to go first, or should I?"

Arnold knew she wouldn't want to cart that box out to the car, so he volunteered. "Are you kidding? I'm dying to find out what's in that box!" he said cheerfully. Helga gulped and nodded at that.

"Okay, so, that's just part one. I wasn't sure what to get you, and money was really tight this year, so... I really hope you like it..." Helga wrapped her arms around herself as he rolled the desk chair up in front of him and started to unwrap the box.

He could tell that it was just a plain cardboard box underneath, which didn't bother him. With all the wrapping paper discarded, he opened the box up to find dozens of little journal-sized books, neatly arranged by volume number. He pulled out the first volume and his eyes widened as it finally dawned on him just what he was looking at. "Is this...?"

Helga nodded. "My poetry collection. The whole thing. Hence why the box was so heavy, heheh..." She swallowed hard and cleared her throat. "Arnold, telling you I loved you was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. I was never really sure how to put it into words. Sometimes I'm still not. So when it was too hard for me to do, I'd write it in these books. I poured my heart and soul into them, everything I was feeling. If I was sad one day, it's in there. If I was really ticked off, it's in there. But they're really all about how much I love you, and how important you are to me."

She took his hand in hers as she stared deeply into his eyes. "I wanted to give you something that showed you just how much I love you, so... I'm giving you my heart. And this isn't actually the whole thing..." She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a brand new volume, opening to the first page. "I started this one last night. This..." She took a deep breath, her hands trembling a little. Arnold reached over and put his hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay..." Arnold said quietly, which was about all he could manage. His eyes were already misty, moved that she would give him something so personal. He understood all too well how hard it was for her to open up, and with these poems he recognized that she was baring her heart fully.

"This poem is the first one that I wrote for you. Not in private, I mean. So..." She took another deep breath and read it aloud.

"Your eyes begin with subtle rings of ocean blue,

such depths I've always longed to swim through...

Those eyes so filled with lush and vibrant green,

a vast and distant jungle like I've never ever seen...

At last a burst of gold that shines so bright,

the guiding light that saved my life...

When eyes like yours look back at me,

a better world is what I see,

and in that world we'll never part.

I love you, Arnold, with all my heart..."

Helga closed her eyes and swallowed hard as she slowly closed the book. "I'm sorry, Arnold. I really tried to-" She was quickly interrupted by Arnold's loving embrace, hugging her tightly against him. Slowly she opened her eyes and wrapped her arms around him in return.

"I love it," Arnold whispered. "All of it. Thank you...so much..." Arnold then kissed her tenderly, letting his lips linger against hers. He reached up and stroked the back of her head as he held her against him, and she held her hand against his cheek. When at last their smile broke, they stared deeply into each other's eyes and gave each other a warm, loving smile.

"Merry Christmas, Arnold..."

Arnold smiled widely at her, and suddenly his eyes widened. "We have to get ready."

Uh. What? Helga blinked at that and tilted her head. "Ready? For what?"

Arnold suddenly broke away from her in a hurry and went to his closet, putting on his winter coat and his boots. "For your gift," Arnold said with an eager tone of voice. Helga's eyes went wide as she wondered just what he had planned. Was his gift outside in the snow somewhere?

"Um... Okay then." Helga put the new poetry book away in her jacket pocket and stood up. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see. Don't worry, my grandpa's taking us."

"Pretty sure Dino Land is closed, Arnold." She laughed nervously as he led her downstairs and to the living room.

"Grandpa! It's time to-"

"Way ahead of you, Short Man!" Phil walked out all dressed to go. "Already got the Packard warmed up. Let's hit the road!" With that they walked out to the garage and got in the car. Before they pulled out, however, Arnold reached into his coat sleeve and pulled out a long black bandana.

Helga smirked and rolled her eyes. "Always the magician."

"Helga, I know this is going to sound weird, but..." He handed over the bandana and gave her a big goofy nervous grin. "I need you to be blindfolded for this part."

Oh boy. "Wait, wait, wait... Arnold are you freaking kidnapping me!?"

Arnold laughed anxiously and shook his head. "No, no! No, I'm just... You'll see. Don't worry, it'll make sense. Eventually. Probably. Trust me, okay?"

Helga sighed and folded it into a blindfold, putting it on over her eyes and tying it behind her head. "I swear, Arnold, if got me tickets to _Rats_ I am going to scream, and not in a good way."

"You'll see," Arnold said with a smirk as he looked at his grandpa. "Hit it, Grandpa!"

"You got it!" With that, they pulled out of the garage, down the driveway, and onto the road. "Hey, little girl! Do you like jazz?"

"Sure I do, _Bee Movie_ ," she grumbled as Phil turned on the radio without having a clue what that meant. Helga then felt Arnold's hand as he gently took hers, squeezing it softly.

"Before we get there, Helga, I just want to say... These last few months have been amazing. Spending all this time with you, getting to know the real you, it really means a lot to me. I can't believe how much my life has changed because of you, and I don't ever want it to end."

Helga swooned softly and squeezed his hand back. "I don't want it to end either. Never..."

They rode along for a few minutes, and then suddenly Phil began to slow down and pulled to a stop. "Thanks, Grandpa."

"You're welcome, Arnold," he responded in a warm voice which had Helga curious. She couldn't help but feel herself start trembling again as Arnold got out of the car. He then grabbed something out of the front seat, which she assumed was her gift, and proceeded to walk around to her door and open it for her.

"You can take the blindfold off now, Helga."

Helga stepped out of the car, thankful that the earlier wind had stopped, and took off her blindfold to see...they were parked on some random street. Somehow she knew it was familiar to her, but she couldn't place it. Otherwise it could have been almost any street in Hillwood. "Gee, Arnold, you've really outdone yourself."

Arnold flashed her a knowing grin. "C'mon..." He held out his hand for her, and she stared down at it for a moment. She took a deep breath, feeling her heart beating so fast it felt like it was ready to burst from her chest. Nervously she took his hand and followed him to the sidewalk, noticing that he had a little box in his hand, wrapped in pink and blue.

Arnold stood in front of her and took a deep breath of his own. She noticed that his hands were a little jittery as he held out the little white box in front of her.

"Helga... You are the most amazing person I have ever met. You are loud, and you are stubborn, and...and you are smart, and beautiful, and you have the biggest heart in the world. I know because not only have I've felt it beat... I've felt it break. You feel so much, and so hard, it's...astonishing. I love that heart, and I don't ever want it to break again. So... today, I want to give it back to you." He nodded at the box in her hands then and smiled. "Open it."

Helga carefully opened it and gasped. Tears fell as she reached out and brushed her fingers against it. "Oh, Arnold...Arnold, how did you..." She looked up into his eyes, gasping for air as she lifted her brand new locket out of the box, his picture already placed inside it.

She dropped the box beside her as she turned it over in her hands. It felt a little heavier than her old one, and the gold shone brighter than the old one ever had. She held it to her chest and looked up at him, at a loss for words.

"I hope you don't mind, but..." Arnold swallowed hard as he felt the tears well up in his eyes. "I took a little creative license with the inscription..."

Helga tilted her head and looked back down at the locket, carefully opening it to look inside. She held her hand over her mouth as she read the new engraving inside it.

 _Helga, my angel,_

 _my heart belongs_

 _to you forever._

 _Love, Arnold Phillip Shortman_

Breathing heavily she slowly closed it and stared at the new photo of him that smiled back at her, eyes full of love and acceptance. Carefully she put the chain around her neck and let the locket drop down under her jacket. She quickly looked up at him and wanted to hug him and hold him and kiss him and never let him go.

But he raised his hand and lifted a finger, as if to halt her. "I'm not done, Helga."

Helga gasped. "H-...How...?"

Arnold then held his hand out for her. "Let's go," he said quietly.

Helga stared at his hand and then up into his eyes, taking it and squeezing it tightly as he led her down the sidewalk. Her mind raced as she kept staring at him, feeling her knees wobble as she walked, completely unaware of her surroundings. After a few more steps he stopped, and she stopped with him. Still, she kept staring down at their hands.

"Helga..."

"Yes, Arnold...?"

Arnold swallowed the lump in his throat and smiled as a tear rolled down his cheek. "Look up..."

Helga turned and squealed, wrapping her arms around herself and shaking her head. She felt like she was dreaming. She had to be dreaming. There was no way. There was simply no way that they were where they were.

Urban Tots Preschool.

Her chest heaved as she turned back to him, only to find him holding another box.

"Helga... You've given me so much. You found the hat my parents gave me. You gave me a parade float. You gave me Mighty Pete. You helped me get over Lila. You're the one who really saved the neighborhood where we live! And in a way, you...well..." He gulped. "You even gave me the last pair of Nancy Spumoni snow boots in the whole city..."

Helga closed her eyes tightly at that, squeezing Arnold's hand as she did everything she could to let him say what he needed to say.

"And then to top it all off, you gave me my parents. My family. All my life I had that hole in my heart, and you filled it. Because of you, I'm whole again. So... Today, I want to give my heart to you in the place where you gave me yours. Where you gave me the greatest gift I have ever been given."

Arnold handed the box to her, and took a deep breath.

Helga swallowed hard and slowly opened the box. There, nestled inside the soft blue lining, was a second locket, a heart of gold just like hers.

With her picture in it.

 _"I have a bunch of pictures with my parents now, but I don't have any of you. Now, where's that smile?"_

 _"Hey, Arnold?"_

 _"Yes, Helga?"_

 _"...I love you..."_

Helga looked up at him, and he smiled for her and said, "Baby, I love you so much."

Helga rushed up and threw her arms around him, kissing him with all her love, all her passion, unable to hold back. She then reached up to put her hand on his cheek, and he kissed her in return, holding her in a warm, loving embrace. When at last they parted, Arnold bowed his head, and with trembling hands she clasped the chain around his neck.

Arnold reached up and gently held her face in his hands. "It was always you, Helga. Always you."

Helga gave him a loving smile, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "I love you, Arnold..."

Arnold wiped it away with his thumb and smiled in return. "I love you, Helga..."

He placed a gentle kiss on her lips and they embraced once more. She laid her head against his and let out a gentle sigh of contentment, her heart more full with love than it had ever been. Quietly she whispered, "So this is what it's like to fly..."

They swayed together as they held each other close, as snowflakes gently fell all around them. A pair of angels with hearts of gold.

Bob watched unseen from a distance, parked on the side of the road in his jeep. He knew Arnold would put that money to good use. He smiled and sighed, glad to see that his daughter was finally, truly happy.

"Merry Christmas, Helga."

* * *

 **A/N: Whew! What a ride, huh folks? I hope you all had as much fun reading as I did writing. So much of this story comes from a deep, personal place for me, so I can't thank you guys enough for sticking with me and leaving such nice reviews. It really means a lot to me.**

 **What's that? Over already? Oh, heck no! Don't let the the chapter title fool ya.**

 **This isn't over yet. There is much still to come.**

 **It is, however, over for the rest of 2018. I'll be taking a little break after this chapter to recharge, then I should hopefully be back sometime in January, or February at the latest. In the meantime, if you have any questions you'd like to ask me, you're welcome to drop them in your reviews and I'll do my best to answer them at the beginning of the next chapter. Or, if you'd like, shoot me a private message and I'll do my best to get back to you as soon as I can. I love hearing from you!**

 **Thanks for believing in me, everyone. Happy Holidays to you all, and Happy New Year!**


	21. A New Day

**Hearts of Gold**

21\. A New Day

"Pleeeease?"

"No."

"Come on, you have to let me try it!"

"No I don't."

"That's not what Mom said."

Gerald sighed. He knew he couldn't win this without a fight. Timberly was older now and much smarter when it came to getting what she wanted, so he'd have to try another approach. "Well, what Mom doesn't know is, this game's pretty violent. I'm just trying to be a good brother, okay?" He wasn't entirely wrong. While it was rated T for Teen, the high quality graphics of the new _Killer Instinct_ game meant that it felt much more brutal and realistic than the old one that he and Arnold usually played at the arcade.

"Oh. Well, I guess I understand that," Timberly said with a little shrug. "Thanks for looking out for me, big brother..."

Gerald was relieved and gave her a little wink and a half smile. "You're welcome." He turned his attention back to the screen as he reached the character select screen, amazed at how cool the classic fighters looked. Naturally he gravitated toward Cinder.

"...I'll just tell Mom I can't play it after all because it's really, _really_ violent."

Gerald froze. Somehow he should have known it was too good to be true. He was lucky he got the new Xbox at all, what with his dad arguing it was too expensive a gift and he should have to work for it like Arnold. He didn't need either of his parents to find out the first game he decided to spend his savings on was _Killer Instinct_ of all things. "Fine. You're lucky I got two controllers." He started to hand her the other one, but pulled it back at the last second before she could take it. "You tell Mom about this and you don't get to play ever again. Not just this game, _any_ game. Deal?"

"Deal," Timberly replied with a quick nod. Gerald then handed her the second controller without yanking it back, set up a multiplayer match, and selected Cinder. Meanwhile Timberly began scanning the other fighters and eventually settled on Sabrewulf. With that, the two started fighting. Timberly bit her lip as she did her best to get used to the controls, which she was surprised to notice Gerald had already picked up much more quickly. She glanced over at him occasionally and couldn't help noticing how heavy his eyelids were.

"You seem tired," she said quietly as she finally discovered how to block.

"I am, a little." Gerald shrugged like it was no big deal. Of course they both knew why he had a hard time sleeping. "Now stop distracting me."

Timberly rolled her eyes and kept playing. "Fine. I was just saying..." She didn't always have the best nights either, but it was clear that her brother wouldn't be sharing his feelings with her any time soon.

Gerald managed to beat her, but she insisted on a rematch, so away they went once more. He couldn't help noticing that she stayed with Sabrewulf instead of selecting a new fighter.

"You sure you don't want to try someone else?"

"Nah, I like this one. He's cute. Besides I want to learn to fight with him."

Gerald can't help but smirk a bit. "Figures. Arnold doesn't get it, but you do..." Gerald's expression sours suddenly, and he starts mashing buttons with a bit more ferocity, pummeling his little sister into another defeat. Before she even asks, he starts another rematch. Timberly was surprised to see how much Gerald's mood had darkened at the mention of his best friend, and couldn't help but poke and prod at him.

"Have you heard from Arnold? I thought you guys would hang out on Christmas but you just stayed here..." Timberly had noticed that Gerald had been hanging out with Arnold less and less lately, though she didn't realize how much it bothered him. She understood that Arnold was busy working or something, but why wouldn't they meet up on Christmas? Or the last couple days, she wondered?

"Nope. Not today," Gerald almost snapped, like he didn't feel much like dwelling on it.

"Okay..." Timberly shrugged. She knew that tone and was wise enough now to drop the subject. Truth be told, she didn't mind having Gerald around more often. Sure, there were the days he went out with Phoebe, but a lot of times Phoebe came to visit him at home too. She was jealous when they first started dating for real, wanting to cling to her brother like she always had, but she quickly came to like Phoebe.

All the same, when Arnold and Phoebe were both taking up so much of her brother's time, she barely got to spend time with him at all. Now that Arnold was seemingly preoccupied, she found it much easier to get his attention. She didn't have to resort to stealing money for candy, or hiding his things, or hogging the bathroom on purpose. She was just happy for what time she did have, even if Gerald was usually grumpy or tired or whatever.

After all, Jamie-O lived on his own now, and he was too busy with his new job anyway. She didn't have anyone else to go to when their parents started yelling again. She needed her big brother.

"Hey, Gerald?"

He grumbled a bit as she managed to land a few decent hits on him. "What, Timberly?"

"I'm glad you're my brother."

Gerald couldn't help but look over at her for a moment, both his expression and his tone softening. "Really?"

Timberly nodded and smiled up at him. "Really."

Gerald took a deep breath and let it out slowly, smiling a bit and shaking his head. "Yeah, you're not so bad either." He reached over and nudged her shoulder. "C'mon, let's keep going. After this round I'll show you how to do some combo moves."

"I keep trying, but it's real tricky," she admitted with a slight giggle.

"You'll get the hang of it." Just then, Gerald felt his phone vibrate on the floor next to him. He was surprised to see it was a text from Arnold.

He swiped the notification away, turned off the screen, and went back to his game.

* * *

"Um... Helga?"

"...Hm?"

"Why are you staring at me...?" Arnold asked as his face began to redden.

"I'm not staring at you," Helga said quietly as she stared at him.

The days following Christmas were like a dream to her, but it was a very different kind of dream. Most dreams were only half-remembered, blurred visions of a future she knew were impossible. Only those days weren't impossible. They really happened. Days without worry, or loneliness, or jealousy. They even got to welcome the new year together. She felt more loved than she ever had before, and it was all real. His love was real, and he was wearing it proudly.

Wasn't he...? She couldn't help but wonder. She had to be sure.

"Yes you are... Are you okay?" Arnold tilted his head as he followed her gaze down to his shirt. He pulled it out a little to look it over, but that only exacerbated his confusion. "I don't see anything..."

Helga rolled her eyes and grumbled. "Criminy, just..." Helga lunged over and grabbed the neckline of his shirt, tugging it down to see the chain to his locket.

"Hey!" Arnold protested, jumping back and grabbing his shirt away from her as his face turned crimson. He couldn't help but wonder what her intentions were. Plus, whether they were innocent or not, he didn't exactly want to get caught in yet another compromising position. "What did you do that for!?"

Helga let out a deep sigh as she sat back in her place on the red couch beside him, crossing her arms facing away from him. Her face turned bright red as she first realized she'd just stolen herself a glance at his bare chest, but her features softened as she forced herself to recall the target at hand: the locket, which he was wearing after all. While Arnold expected to see an all-too-familiar frown of frustration as he leaned forward to look at her, he instead saw a shy smirk begin to form.

"Helga?"

"...It's nothing," she grumbled, rubbing her arm.

"Is it the locket...?" Arnold asked, raising an eyebrow as he gave her a knowing look.

Helga paused, considering her options, but she decided to be truthful. "Yeah, I guess..."

Arnold relaxed, reaching over and touching her shoulder. "Helga, I told you I was wearing it. Why do you keep wondering if I'm wearing it or not?"

Helga finally met his gaze once more. "I don't know... I guess it's just that, you're a boy. You know? Boys don't usually wear that sort of thing. No offense, it's just...weird."

Arnold smirked. "I'm weird, huh?"

"Doi, I've been telling you that for years!" Helga replied with an eye roll, lightly and playfully smacking his arm. "I'm really happy you're wearing it, it's just that you're..."

"A bold kid."

"That's it."

Arnold laughed and reached around her shoulders, gently hugging her against him. "Helga, you carried me in your heart for years. It's time I carried you in mine."

Helga swooned and laid her head against his shoulder. "Oh, Arnold..." She closed her eyes and let out a gentle sigh of relief.

"Now is that really all that's on your mind?"

"I'm sorry. It's just that I feel like I'm dreaming sometimes, and I don't want to wake up. Not from this one."

"It's not a dream, Helga. If this was a dream, the house would turn into some crazy mansion or something, and I'd be a clown with a scary face."

Helga raised her brow at that. "You have some weird dreams, Football Head."

"That's not... I don't mean _my_ dreams are like that. It's just, that's how dreams usually work."

A wide, knowing smirk grew across Helga's face. She couldn't help it. She had to take advantage of the opportunity to mess with him. "Oh, that's not how _my_ dreams work."

Arnold swallowed hard, tensing up as he wondered just what she meant by that. Of course, deep down he knew exactly what she meant, and his face reddened as those thoughts rose up to the surface of his mind. "Uhhh... Okay..."

Helga laughed and smacked her forehead. "Oh, brother, you have _got_ to lighten up. I mean, don't tell me you've never had dreams about me." As soon as she said that, she realized what she just put into the universe, and her eyes widened. Why did she have to say that? What if he does dream about her, she thought? She cursed herself for indulging her impulse to tease him and hoped he wouldn't take the bait.

Arnold, who was growing more attuned to her moods, could tell she just put her foot in her mouth. Meaning it was a great opportunity for revenge. "Of course I do. But I'm not sharing mine unless you share yours."

"Huh!?" Helga said as she did a double-take, leaning away from him. Suddenly her phone went off and she jumped, quickly checking it to find a message from Phoebe. Arnold couldn't help but laugh and shake his head as she collected herself.

"Seems like someone else needs to lighten up too."

"Oh, ha ha ha, very funny Football Head..." Her mind raced as she tried to look at her phone. As his words kept dancing around in her head, she couldn't read the ones on the phone at all. They may as well have been in Japanese. Which, knowing Phoebe, wouldn't surprise her that much.

Arnold reached over and softly took her free hand in his. "I was joking around, that's all. Just giving you a taste of your own medicine."

Helga rolled her eyes at him. "Whatever. Let's just...call it a truce," she grumbled.

"Alright, then. A truce it is."

Arnold squeezed her hand in that reassuring way before releasing it. A little smile of relief formed on her face as she turned her attention back to her phone. "I guess Gerald isn't coming, so Phoebe said to just meet her there. I hope she remembers to bring an extra pair of skates."

"You should have brought yours from home, Helga."

Helga rolled her eyes. "I don't know where they are. Bob went into my room and messed with everything, remember?" Helga bitterly replied.

Arnold gulped, knowing he'd have to change the subject if he wanted to keep Helga in good spirits. A light went off in his head just then. "Hey, um... I was wondering why Gerald didn't text me back. Did she say anything else?"

"Nope."

"Oh... Okay. I guess I'll ask about him later..."

Arnold stared off into space for a moment. It had been a short while since he texted Gerald, asking if he and Phoebe would like to go on a double date while they still had time, before everyone had to go back to school tomorrow. Skating at the park sounded like fun, or so he thought, and Helga and Phoebe agreed.

Of course Helga wished they could have a game of hockey like the old days, but with everyone so fragmented at the moment even she knew they wouldn't have enough players.

Still, it surprised Arnold that Gerald didn't want to come. At least, it seemed that way. He'd been meaning to hang out with Gerald during the break, but as the winter break went on, Gerald seemed less and less interested in doing anything, and Arnold was more than content to spend his time with Helga. In fact, the last few days with Helga were amazing.

All the same, Arnold had a bad feeling about this. Why was Gerald still blowing him off, he wondered? Was it because of the issues with his parents at home? Or could he be sick, perhaps? Whatever it was, Arnold couldn't help but worry.

"Hey, Arnold. Psst, let's go." Arnold's head spun and he looked up, seeing Helga was already getting ready to head out. "Phoebe's probably on her way there."

"Sorry. I was just wondering why Gerald isn't coming..."

Helga shrugged. "Beats me."

Without another word, Arnold got dressed for the cold, grabbed his skates, and they left for the park together, walking hand in hand.

* * *

Phoebe waved as Arnold and Helga approached. She was glad to see them, though Gerald was never far from her mind. She knew she'd have to explain his absence at some point, so after they said their hellos and started skating, she didn't waste any time.

"So, I'm assuming you're wondering why Gerald isn't here with us. He told me he wasn't feeling well today..." Phoebe trailed off, knowing it couldn't be that simple. She turned her gaze to the wonderland around them, wishing Gerald was there to see it with her.

"Oh. That's too bad," Arnold said with a shrug.

"Well, you see... I personally don't believe that Gerald is actually sick. I believe he is in a difficult emotional space because of...well, because of his family. When I went to visit him for Christmas, there was a lot of tension, and it has only gotten worse. Sometimes he's desperate to come out with me, sometimes he requests to stay home in his room all day."

Arnold skidded to a stop as Helga and Phoebe kept going, circling back around to stop with him. "I didn't know it was that bad. Why doesn't he talk to me about it?"

Phoebe sighed. "He doesn't talk to _me_ about it very much..." As she looked up at Arnold, an idea took hold in her mind and she began to wonder if there was more on Gerald's mind than his parents.

"Well, it sure is nice of him to share you with us," Helga said as she touched her friend's shoulder.

"Yeah, he actually mentioned you."

Helga blinked and tilted her head. "Uhhh... He did...?"

"What did he say?" Arnold added.

"Well, I offered to stay with him at his place, but he said it wouldn't be fair if he took me away from my best friend all the time. He actually encouraged me to spend time with you."

"Wow. Remind me to thank ol' Tall Hair Boy, that is if he shows up for school tomorrow," Helga said with a smile, all while Arnold had a sinking feeling that he finally knew why Gerald was avoiding him. He thought that after what happened on Halloween, Gerald wasn't so worried about him being with Helga. With Gerald's parents fighting so much, however, Arnold realized that perhaps Gerald needed him now more than ever.

And Arnold wasn't there for him.

As the trio spent the day together, Arnold resolved to confront Gerald at school and hopefully repair their friendship.

* * *

The first day of school after the break had finally arrived. While some kids were groaning and grumbling about how they wished the break was longer, others were excited to share of the various gifts and activities they enjoyed.

Iggy showed off his fancy new drone. Harold bragged that he got eight whole days of presents. Eugene was excited to share pictures of his new bearded dragon, Lizzie. He knew better than to bring her to school, of course. Too many bad pet incidents.

Stinky and Lila got some attention, of course, as their relationship was still so new to some of their classmates, who were left largely in disbelief. The old Rhonda would have been depressed to see another coupling in the class, especially one that was working out so well. However, the new and improved Rhonda was happy for them. Not that she was really worried about them, that is. She was more concerned with finding the identity of her secret admirer.

As she scanned the classroom, Peapod Kid rushed in with a bit of news that turned the whole class around. Suddenly everyone had something more intriguing to talk about...

Almost everyone, that is.

Helga crossed her arms and shook her head as she stood outside the classroom with Arnold, who was nervous about going in there and needed a moment of reflection to calm down. It seemed like only yesterday that he did the same for her. She felt dumb about it in hindsight, and she was surprised to find Arnold in the same situation.

"You know, we could just skip school and go to the mall."

Arnold rolled his eyes. "Not this again."

"Just saying," Helga said with a smirk. "Come on, don't be such a Football Head. How do you know he's really mad at you?"

"I don't know, Helga, but what if he is? What do I do?"

"Oh, brother... Arnold, you keep trying. Or you give him some space and come hang with me, let Phoebe take a crack at him. You _know_ you're not alone in this, so why act like it?"

"I guess you're right. I mean, Gerald and I have had our ups and downs, and avoiding him didn't help then..."

Helga nudged his arm playfully. "Exactly."

"It's just..." Arnold sighed and looked at her with worry. "He's my best friend, and you're my girlfriend. I didn't think he was mad at you, or that he hated you, but what if I'm wrong about that? I can't have my best friend and my girlfriend hating each other."

"Pffft, I don't care if he hates me. And I don't hate him anyway." She tapped her finger against her arm as she stared into the distance, thinking of some way to comfort him. "Okay, remember when you were lab partners with Rhonda and Nadine, and they were fighting all the time?"

Arnold shivered. "Don't remind me of that..."

"How did they become friends again?"

"...They compromised."

"So, maybe you just hang out with Gerald more often. Just the two of you..."

Arnold's eyes widened when he realized what it meant for her to even suggest that. "Helga..."

"Don't. I'm a big girl, I can find other things to do. I do have a best friend of my own, you know. Remember Phoebe? Short, black hair, glasses, super advanced robot brain?"

"Yes, Helga, I remember Phoebe." Arnold took a deep breath and reached over to hold her hand. "Are you sure? Spending the break with you was so much fun. My younger self would think I'm insane for saying this, but I really love having you around. And..."

"And what...?"

"...What if you need me?"

Helga's heart went all a flutter, but she held back a swoon and took a deep breath. Now was not the time to go all gaga for the boy. She slowly reached over and placed her hand on his chest. Sure enough, she could feel the locket under his shirt. "We'll still be together. Okay?"

The worry from Arnold's face faded away, and he gave her a warm smile. "Thanks, Helga."

"You're welcome, bucko. Also, I'm trying really hard not to pass out, so if you could just, uh...move my hand away for me, that would be great."

"Oh. Uh, okay then." Arnold took her hand and gently moved it away from his shirt, releasing her before taking a little step back. He blinked as she held her hand up in the air for a moment. "Um... Helga?"

"Huh? Oh, right..." Helga's hand quickly fell to her side, and she shook her head and cleared her throat. "Criminy, how long have we been standing out here? We're probably freaking late."

"You're right... Say, where's Mr. Frank anyway? He should be coming down the hall right about now."

Helga shrugged. "Psssh, who cares? Let's go." With that, the two of them walked into the classroom together.

* * *

As Arnold sat at his desk, he turned around to look back at Gerald, who had his head down over his arms. "Gerald? Listen, I um..." Arnold raised an eyebrow as he realized that Gerald couldn't seem to hear him. He leaned to the side a bit and noticed he had his earbuds in. Arnold sighed a bit and shook his head before gently tapping Gerald's arm. "Gerald...?"

Gerald lifted his head up and looked Arnold dead in the eyes. Without blinking. A moment passed before Gerald took his earbuds out. "Hm?"

Arnold gulped. "Listen, um... I just wanted to say, I know I've-"

"Hold on a sec," Gerald groaned before stretching his arms out and yawning. Arnold hadn't noticed how tired Gerald seemed, but it made sense that he might be losing sleep. That thought only made Arnold feel more guilty. "Alright, what's up?"

"I just, uh... I wanted to let you know, I know I've been busy and everything, and I get it if you're a little ticked off with me, but... You're my best friend, and I'm sorry if I let you down or anything."

Gerald took a moment to ponder this. He knew Arnold was a bold kid, and he had a big heart. He also knew that Arnold could be quite the clueless type. Why does he suddenly care so much? Gerald was giving him signals for a little while, and he didn't notice. It's not like Arnold even noticed he wasn't around much. It was then Gerald guessed that Arnold had to be nudged into doing this.

"Whatever. Don't worry about it, okay?"

"Really? You mean it?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Gerald slowly put his fist out to initiate their signature handshake. He didn't really want to, but he did anyway. He wasn't in any mood to get real, and he had to admit to himself he was curious to see just how genuine Arnold's apology really was.

"Gee, thanks Gerald! I knew I could count on you, man. This weekend, you and me, we're doing something fun. You name it!" Arnold met his fist bump and the two friends wiggled thumbs, and as far as Arnold knew, everything was cool again.

For now.

Meanwhile, Helga couldn't help but notice everyone was chatting in hushed tones. At first she worried that she was the subject of even more gossip, but quickly she realized that no one was paying her much attention at all.

She turned to Phoebe and leaned toward her. "What's going on? What's everyone talking about?"

"According to Peapod Kid, we're getting a ne-"

"Attention, everybody!" Mr. Frank said at the loudest possible tone his dull, boring voice could muster. "Settle down, settle down."

A hush fell over the room and everyone turned to look ahead. Helga was annoyed that she missed out on the juicy gossip, but she figured she could wait for now. Not that she had any other choice.

As Helga looked ahead, she was left wondering just what to expect.

"Now, I know you all have probably been wondering why I'm running late," Mr. Frank droned on to a room of people who were not wondering that at all. "I'm sure you're all very anxious and excited to be back in school," he almost snarled, "but I have a very important announcement to make for all of you..." The weary old guy cleared his throat and half-yelled at the door, "You can come in now."

The door opened, and in walked a girl wearing a dark purple dress, black leggings and tall boots, and spiked wristbands not unlike what Stinky used to war. She was also pale, had straight black hair, and green eyes.

"Everyone, this is Daisy Collins. She'll be finishing out the year with you, so please make sure she feels welcome and give her a warm hello," said a man who did not seem capable of warmth.

"HI DAISY!" said most of the class in unison. Daisy awkwardly waved, not used to being the center of attention. As she scanned the room, she noticed a familiar face and couldn't help herself.

"Hey, Arnold!"

Helga did not expect that.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you guys didn't think I forgot about you!**

 **I know I'm posting this a little later than I suggested, but I might be posting it a little earlier than I should. Long story short, depression sucks. It's not the same for everybody, but in my case, it can really zap my motivation and creativity, so what was planned as a vacation turned into more of a rut.**

 **But I'm determined not to stay in that rut, so I'm sharing this now to let you guys know I'm back. I can't promise you that chapters will be published at their old pace, but I can promise you I won't give up, and I'm feeling pretty good about the next one!**


	22. Psycho Girl

**Hearts of Gold**

22\. Psycho Girl

"So, let me get this straight. You met this girl while you were shopping..."

"Yes, Helga."

"And she almost bought this locket, ruining your super romantic Christmas idea..."

Arnold sighed. "Yes, Helga."

"And the reason she didn't is because you _told her_ it was for a super romantic Christmas gift, meaning you told her about _me_..."

Arnold swallowed hard and gave her a slow, nervous shrug. "Kinda...?" He should have known better than to spill the beans on why he was getting the locket. Daisy even pointed out to him how weird it was for him to share that kind of personal information with a total stranger, especially considering Helga's history.

He knew he was in for it now. As he slowly took a spoonful of tapioca pudding and put it in his mouth, he never broke eye contact with his dear, beautiful Helga, who was currently staring at him with what felt like bullets where her eyes should be. Pretty bullets, of course. But still bullets.

"How much did you _tell her_ , Arnold?" Helga asked through her teeth.

"I... I just told her you loved me for a long time and you were too shy to tell me, so-"

"TOO _SHY_!?" Helga couldn't help but yell as she leaned back in shock. "Oh, great! That's just great, Arnold. Seriously, thank you _so much_ for that! Now as far as she knows I'm some poor little mousey princess girl who's too quiet and shy and pathetic to stand up for herself! Yup, that's me, no agency to speak of!"

Arnold winced as he realized it had been a long time since he'd seen Helga quite like this. Especially toward him. "Helga, I'm-... I'm sure that's not what she thinks, okay? I didn't go into _too_ much detail. At least, I-I don't think I did. Just, just try and-"

"Oh, do _not_ tell me to calm down, Bucko," she snarled. She opened her mouth to keep going, but noticing some eyes around the cafeteria turned toward her, she continued in a lower tone. "Didn't go into too much detail. Just enough to make her think I'm a wuss, right? I bet you left out all the stuff about how I was the one who told you how I felt, didn't you? _Twice_ if I remember correctly. Or how I helped you find your parents and save those green-eyed people. Or how-"

"Helga," Phoebe cut in as she sat down at the lunch table, "I'm sure Arnold meant no harm, and it's unlikely that such a brief conversation would imply so much about you. I doubt she's drawn any conclusions about someone she's never met."

"Thanks, Phoebe." Arnold swallowed hard and took a moment to keep cool before continuing, "I swear to you, I did not know she was going to show up here," Arnold added. "I just had to give a good reason why I should get the locket, and I chose to be honest with her. And I got it for you, didn't I? Besides, would you really want me to tell her all of that other stuff? If I did, we both know you'd be upset that I wasn't even more discrete."

Helga nodded slowly, looking into his eyes with the scowl still on her face as she reached up to feel her locket under her shirt. "You have a point..." She grumbled. She glanced over at Phoebe and then back at Arnold, and as she realized what she had just done, her features softened until she let out a sigh of defeat. Before she could even open her mouth to apologize, Arnold reached over and touched her hand. He had an idea what she might be thinking.

"It's okay, Helga. I understand why you were upset." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, hoping she wouldn't spiral from anger at what he'd done to despair at what she just did.

"Thanks. I'm sorry for...overreacting. I didn't mean to get carried away. Just, tell me about this stuff, okay? I mean, not that I expect it to happen _again_ , that's insane, but just... I don't know, just tell me things. That's all..."

"Don't worry about it, alright? I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. I didn't think it would be a big deal, but from now on if anything weird like that happens, I'll let you know." Arnold leaned over and kissed her cheek, making her blush and bringing a smile back to her face. Of course she had to do a quick look around the room, ready to shoot a glare at anyone who might be gawking, but instead she noticed Gerald standing across the cafeteria, tray in hand, staring at their table.

"Hey, uh... Gerald's just standing over there," Helga said quietly.

Arnold considered what to do. Should he let Phoebe call him over so he didn't seem too desperate? Quickly that thought faded when he recalled the reason there was any awkwardness to begin with. If he ignored him now out of some misguided attempt at playing it cool, Gerald might easily go back to being ticked off, and that was not something Arnold wanted to risk. So he turned, not ignoring him, and waved him over.

Gerald took a deep breath and walked to his familiar old table, taking his seat next to Phoebe. "Hey, fellas."

"Hey, Gerald!" Arnold said, hoping he didn't come off too enthusiastic to seem genuine.

"I didn't miss Helga smacking you upside the head, did I?"

"Uh, no... No, she didn't smack me..."

"Good. 'Cause I wanted to be here for that."

Arnold stared at him for a moment, not sure what Gerald meant. He figured things wouldn't be patched up right away, but could he really be _that_ angry? Angry enough to enjoy seeing him get his head bitten off by his girlfriend? Or worse, attacked by her?

"That was a joke, Arnold." Gerald smirked and stuck out his fist.

Arnold was relieved, and immediately he chuckled as his worries began to fade and things started to feel like they were going back to normal. "You gonna punch me now, Johanssen?" Arnold met his fist and they wiggled thumbs like always, as if there was never any tension between them.

"You want to take this outside, Shortman?" Gerald had to admit, while he was fully prepared to give Arnold the cold shoulder, it felt good to laugh with his best friend again. Getting back to the old routine was as natural as riding a bike. Well, perhaps more natural than that, in his case.

"You better watch out, Geraldo. Arnold's _crazy_ , remember?" Helga nudged Arnold and winked at him as she spoke, prompting him to roll his eyes.

"I can't believe you remember that, Helga. That was a couple years ago..." Arnold thought back to that whole standoff with Harold, and recalled how Helga intervened to postpone Arnold's beating. "Say... You didn't really want Harold to beat me up, did you?"

Helga rolled her eyes. "Maybe I didn't... So what?" She spat at him in a familiar tone, although a sly smirk reassured him she was just being playful.

Arnold crossed his arms. "So, why the big countdown all day?"

"Criminy, I don't know! That was freaking forever ago. I guess I was just warning you? And maybe...having a little fun with it...? Sort of?"

"You don't want her to beat him up _again_ do you?" Gerald asked before sipping at a cold Yahoo soda. "If so, I want to be here for that too."

"Gerald..." Phoebe said as she shook her head. "Violence is not a preferable solution to one's interpersonal conflicts. Besides, Harold would have chickened out if Helga went after him," Phoebe said nonchalantly, catching him off guard.

"Thanks, Pheebs. I think...?" Helga said with a mouthful. She swallowed before turning back to Arnold. "And for the record? No, Arnoldo, I did not want Harold to beat you up. Happy now?"

Helga opened her mouth to keep speaking, but stopped at the sound of someone clearing their throat behind her.

"Heyyy, so... You guys mind if I sit here?" Daisy asked as everyone turned to look at her, which the rest of the cafeteria had already been doing from the moment she walked in. She raised her shoulders nervously as she felt all the eyes on her, glancing around the room before turning her gaze to Arnold, giving him a look as if she was drowning in the ocean and begging him to toss her a life preserver.

"Sure, we don't mind. Right guys?" Arnold looked around the table, and while Gerald and Phoebe seemed cool enough with it, he could tell Helga was still a little tense.

"Nope. Not at all," Helga said as she looked back at Daisy. "Any specific reason you came to _this_ table, if I may ask?"

"I mean, it helps that I met Arnold once. You guys just seem pretty chill is all. And I'm guessing you're Helga?" Daisy replied as she sat down slowly next to her.

"The one and only." Helga turned toward her and leaned sideways against the table, propping her head up with her arm and practically shielding Arnold from her.

"Had a feeling," Daisy said as she flashed a little knowing smile at Arnold, then at her. "Gotta say, I dig the bow. Pink doesn't usually work for me, but you're rocking it."

Helga blinked and narrowed her eyes, not used to getting compliments like that. Was this girl trying to psych her out, she wondered? Or did she mean what she said for real? "Why, thank you..." Helga gulped as she tried to think of something, anything, just to keep things cool and casual. What's a dumb compliment that vapid girly girls like to use, she wondered? Quickly she blurted out the first thing she could think of. "I uh, I like your hair. So um, yeah..."

Daisy shrugged and impulsively brushed a strand back over her ear. Her hair was long and straight, so black that it almost seemed a little blue, and she had straight bangs that came down to a point. "Thanks. Actually I've been thinking of dyeing it, but I'm not sure."

"You want to dye your hair? What color...?" Helga asked curiously.

"Yeah, I was thinking maybe green, or teal. Something like that..."

There was a noticeable pause after that, as everyone tried to figure out just how to follow that. "My name is Phoebe," the petite girl finally said, cutting through the awkwardness with a polite bow and a cheerful smile. "I am very pleased to meet you. I look forward to us getting to know each other, through social and academic interaction."

Daisy's eyes widened. "You talk cool, Phoebe. Nice to meet you too."

Phoebe's smile grew, taking pride in her careful, deliberate approach to communication. "Thank you! Also, this is my boyfriend Gerald." She took his hand as she spoke, and Gerald nodded toward the new girl with his usual charismatic grin.

"'Sup?"

"Just...sitting here, making new friends I guess." Daisy shrugged, taking a sip of tea as she glanced around the table. "Gotta admit, you guys are making it way easier than I thought it would be. I'm not usually good at making friends..." Looking at Arnold she couldn't help but chuckle. "Still can't believe I ran into you outside of school already. The fates are watching us, aren't they?"

Arnold blinked, having no idea what the heck that was about. "I...guess they are. So um, what brings you to Hillwood anyway? Have you been here long?"

"Few weeks now. Parents are retired, looking for a new start. One big plus? The hospital."

"The hospital?" Helga asked with a raised brow. "The heck's so great about the hospital anyway?"

Daisy laughed. "Better doctors, that's what. Wasn't so great, back where we came from. Small town deal, couldn't do as much."

"So what, are you planning on getting sick or something?" Helga asked incredulously.

"Helga..." Arnold rolled his eyes.

"What? I'm just saying..."

"It's cool," Daisy said with a shrug. "Actually, my mom was sick. She's good now, but... Let's just say if anything happens down the road, we got better options here." With that she looked down at her tray, slowly picking at her food and eating it in small bites. For a moment her mind wandered off, recalling dark days in cold hospital rooms where she would do her homework on plastic trays and live off ramen noodles and warm Gatorade, all while her dad did his best to sleep comfortably in a broken old recliner in the corner of the room.

"It sounds like you and your family share a close bond," Phoebe said quietly.

Daisy smiled. "Yeah, we sure do."

Helga tilted her head a little. "Can't be all hunky dory, though. Black nails, dark clothes, that baloney about "the fates" and so on, I bet you're into all that weird Goth crap aren't you?"

Daisy gulped. "I mean, some of it's pretty cool... But that's not even one scene anymore, you know? Goth is a whole bunch of things now. I guess I don't really go out of my way to try and be one thing. I can be whatever I want, right? And no, my parents don't mind..."

"Yeah? So you're telling me your parents don't give you any crap for looking all...this?"

Rather than respond in any way Helga might have anticipated, Daisy turned to look at Helga and crossed her arms, staring with a steely-eyed gaze that set Helga's alarm bells off.

"What...? Why are you giving me that look, sister?"

"I'm getting some wicked vibes here," Daisy said with a sly, knowing tone. She leaned toward Helga slowly, keeping her head steady in a way that was almost snake-like. "Do you not like me or something?"

"Huh?" Helga blinked, recoiling as this new girl stared into her eyes so intently it was like she was reading her soul.

"No, that's not it, is it?" Daisy slowly smirked as her eyes narrowed. She tilted her head slowly, looking Helga over as if to study her. Suddenly her eyes lit up and she sat back in her chair. "I see... I know exactly what's going on."

"What are you talking about? Why are you staring at me like that!?"

"Just figured something out, that's all. You had me worried for a second, but it's okay. I know it's not about me," Daisy said as she went back to eating, casually taking a bite out of her apple before glancing over at her with a knowing smirk, though that wasn't the disturbing thing. What creeped out Helga the most was that there wasn't any hint of malice. She may as well have been telling some innocent little joke. "You've got nothing to worry about, by the way. It's okay, I get it, but I assure you all is well."

"I... But you... How..." Helga struggled to put words together as she watched this girl sit there like nothing weird just took place. Did she think she was jealous of her or something? Or that she might get between her and Arnold? As Helga wondered this, she was unsettled by the realization that Daisy wasn't so far off. But what was _she_ thinking?

Whatever it was, Daisy dropped it as quickly as she picked it up. "So, anything fun to do around here? Bet it's gorgeous in the spring. "

"Well, there is the annual Cheese Festival, which usually occurs sometime during late spring, early summer," Phoebe pitched in.

Daisy did a double take. "Hold up, there's such a thing as an annual Cheese Festival? You don't mean, like, just a bunch of different...cheese vendors standing around offering free samples and junk, right?"

"Well, there's plenty of cheese to eat, but there's also rides and games and other fun stuff. We go every year."

Helga rolled her eyes at that, not even wanting to think of that stupid festival.

"Well now you've piqued my interest." Daisy leaned over the table, eager to learn more.

As everyone else started to fill her in on the wonders of the stupid Cheese Festival and Dino Land and Gerald Field, Helga pulled out her phone under the table and shot a text message to Arnold. Feeling his phone vibrate, Arnold sighed and excused himself to answer.

 _Helga:_ This girl is freakin psychoooo!

 _Arnold:_ Helga she's not a psycho. She's a little different but it's no big deal

 _Helga:_ CRIMINY she read my mind what more proof do you NEED?

 _Arnold:_ Ok there is no way she can read minds. Also I think that's psychic not psycho

 _Helga:_ Yeah well shes probly BOTH of em! Did u see how she looked at me? The point is SHES A MAJOR CREEPAZOID

 _Arnold:_ Just give her a chance. That's what you would want right?

 _Helga:_ Uggghhh fineeee

"Everything okay, Arnold?" Daisy asked as she gave him the same sly, deeply inquisitive look she gave Helga moments ago.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry, I just um... It was no big deal."

"Mmhmm... Gotta say though, it must have been a big enough deal to text you while you're in school. After all, if anyone _here_ had something they wanted to say, they could just talk to you _out loud_ , right?"

Arnold nodded slowly as he started to see Helga's point. "Yeah, I uh... I guess you're right..."

There was a pause, as Daisy kept staring at him, trying to figure it all out. The briefest glance at Helga, who was still very tense, confirmed her suspicion. "Well, _whoever_ it was, I really hope they feel better." Daisy's curious, almost mischievous expression started to fade. With her lunch tray now empty, she stood up and let out a deep sigh, letting her head hang low. "I'll be back in a minute, if that's okay..."

As she walked off, Helga let out a sigh of relief. "Finally." She glanced back to watch Daisy walk away, looking around the room to try and figure out where to deposit her empty tray. Helga noticed how everyone else in the cafeteria was watching her too, and winced as she felt reminded of a certain someone who also had a rough first day, many years ago, and how unwelcome everyone made her feel. Everyone but _him_.

"Dang it," Helga grumbled as she realized what she had to do when Daisy came back. "Hey, Arnold?"

"Yes, Helga...?" Arnold asked quietly.

"Just..." She sighed and leaned over to him, dropping her voice down to a whisper, "Hold my hand, alright?"

Arnold nodded and took her hand in his, giving it a comforting squeeze.

"I don't know, man. That was pretty weird," Gerald said with a shiver. "It's like she can see right into your head or something."

Arnold sighed. "Not you too... She's just good at reading people, that's all. Like, freaky good..."

"Well, she's not reading us anymore. Criminy, it's not like we have anything to hide from the girl!" Helga snapped without making eye contact with anyone. She just stared down at the table, thinking about the first impression she just made. "When she gets back, we just act like everything's cool. Got it?"

"What's with you all of a sudden?" Gerald asked incredulously. "You're the one who gave her such a hard time."

Helga winced. "Whatever, Geraldo... I guess I did, but it's done. I don't want to be the one who ruins her first day anymore. I've been there before, and it sucks."

Phoebe nodded slowly. "Indeed, our behavior was rather shameful."

"Uh... What?"

"You are referring to Lila, yes? How we treated her when she first arrived?"

Helga smacked herself in the head and groaned in frustration. She hadn't even thought of that. "Gee, thanks Phoebe, now I feel _so much better_. That's just what I needed, a reminder of what a jerk I was to _another_ new girl."

Phoebe winced at that. "I'm sorry, Helga. I didn't mean to bring up any negative feelings from the past. I simply misunderstood..."

Helga sighed and closed her eyes, reaching up to rub the bridge of her nose with her fingers. "It's fine..."

Arnold squeezed her hand again, but she interrupted him before he could speak. "Please, let's just...stop, okay? I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Alright, Helga..." Arnold took a deep breath as he looked into her eyes. He wasn't as talented at reading people as Daisy, but he had a feeling he knew what Helga was thinking, and he knew he'd have work to do later.

* * *

Daisy decided to take a quick walk out of the cafeteria and into the hallway. As she found the girls' bathroom, she quietly walked inside and looked to the stall doors to see if anyone else was in there. Seeing them all open and satisfied that she was alone, she went to the farthest stall and closed the door behind her, leaning against the wall as she pulled out her phone.

Quickly she dialed the first number in her most recent calls, and she smiled at the photo that came up as she waited for an answer. It was a selfie she'd taken with her mom in the hospital shortly before she was allowed to go home, goofy faces adorned with digital cat ears and noses.

"Hey, baby! What's up? You still in school...?"

Daisy rolled her eyes and smiled, soothed by the familiar gentle tone of her mom's voice as she held the phone to her ear. "Hi, Mommy... Don't worry, it's just lunch time. I uh, snuck off to the bathroom to call you real quick..."

"Oh! Well, that's alright I guess. How's your first day so far? You making any new friends?"

Daisy paused, not sure how to answer. "I think so. I don't know..."

"Oh dear. You remember what we talked about, babe...?"

She nodded, but realized that was stupid and responded, "Yeah, I know. I swear, I'm trying to put myself out there... It's just hard, you know? Like... Ugh, I don't know..."

"Talk to me, baby."

Daisy shook her head and closed her eyes. "Remember I told you about that boy, the one from Budnick's? Turns out he goes to school here, and I started making friends with him and his...gang or whatever, but I don't think his girlfriend likes me..."

"Why not?"

"Well, I think she's one of those people who acts all tough to hide her insecurities, you know? Like, she kind of got all...tense and guarded and just, I can tell she thinks I'm after her boyfriend or something. Like, I don't even care about that stuff right now, you know? I just..."

"Just what, baby?"

Daisy held her fingers over her eyes, as if in a futile attempt to to physically hold back her tears. "I don't want to rock anyone's boat, you know? I don't want to be a...you know..."

"A burden." Daisy's mom sighed a gentle sigh, saddened that she had to have this discussion again. "Honey, you're not a burden, you're _never_ a burden. Not to me and your dad, and not to anyone else..."

"I just feel like... I'm intruding on this really tight group, you know? And they think I'm weird, and it's awkward, and she doesn't trust me, and I just... Maybe I should just keep to myself..."

"Sweetie, I know it's hard, believe me. But you can't give up so easily. Just see how it goes, okay? It's only your first day, and who knows? You might really bond with them. You'll never know if you don't try, right?"

Daisy sniffled and shuffled her feet. "I guess..."

"Is there anything else you wanted to talk about, honey?"

Daisy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Are you feeling okay? I didn't wake you up or anything, did I...?"

Her mom laughed. "Baby, I'm feeling just fine. I'm not tired or anything, I promise. I was actually thinking of taking a little walk."

"But it's freezing out..."

"Bah, it's not that bad."

Daisy sighed, knowing her mom was too stubborn to talk out of it. "Just be careful, okay? Keep your phone on you. And make sure it's charged."

"I will honey. You better go back to lunch, okay?"

"I will. Thanks. Miss you..."

"Miss you too, sweetie. Have a nice rest of your day! Also I love you!"

"I will. Bye, Mommy. Love you..."

Daisy reluctantly hung up the call, not wanting it to end. As much as she wished she could stay in there and spend the rest of the day on the phone with her best friend in the world, she knew that wasn't an option. After rubbing her eyes a bit and checking herself in the mirror, she walked out of the bathroom and back into the cafeteria. While the other kids were clearly a little anxious about her return, she sat down quietly in her seat, not making eye contact with anyone.

"Sorry about that, I uh... I just had to make a phone call, real quick..."

"It's okay," Arnold said with a little smile.

Helga fidgeted in her seat, the most anxious of them by a country mile. "SO," she blurted out. "I um..."

"Hm?" Daisy said quietly, looking over at her with her head kept low and her shoulders raised.

"I just...I'm sorry, okay? I just... I jumped to conclusions, and I freaked out. Last time we got a new girl, it was a whole thing, and... If you promise not to make a big deal out of it, or run your mouth to anyone outside this table, then... Maybe I'll tell you about it one day. Okay?"

As Daisy stared at her, she realized that perhaps she had jumped to conclusions as well. "Sure. Sounds good. And, thanks..."

"Yeah, yeah, don't mention it..." As much as Helga seemed to snarl at her, Daisy noticed a new wave of calmness washing over her. Her fidgeting stopped, her eyes weren't darting around, she held eye contact for more than a second; Daisy smiled as she realized that Helga might finally be warming up to her.

"I just hope we can be friends, that's all."

Helga took a deep breath and nodded. "Me tooooo..."

Relieved to see Helga finally getting along with the new girl, Arnold got an idea. "You know what? I don't think we're doing anything this weekend."

"We're not?" Helga asked as she whipped her head around.

"How about you come over to my place, hang out with us for a while? It'll be fun!"

Helga slowly turned around to stare at Daisy, a sense of dread growing in the back of her mind. Meanwhile Daisy considered the offer, and while part of her did worry that she'd be overstepping more boundaries, she recalled what her mother said and decided to give these new friends, and give herself, a chance.

"Sure! I'd love to."

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you guys so much for all your kind words and all your support. It really means a lot to me, having you folks rooting for me, and all your encouragement is a big, big help!**

 **I want to assure you, I won't let you guys down! I still have a lot planned, and now that I'm finally getting back in the groove of things, I can't wait for you guys to see what's in store. I'll give you a little tease: this chapter, we finally met Daisy for real. Next chapter? Get ready to meet her parents!**


	23. Reading the Room

**Hearts of Gold**

23\. Reading the Room

"Hey, Dad? Can I ask you something?" Arnold asked as he sat down at the kitchen table, the old chair creaking as he slid himself closer to his father. "I need your advice."

"Sure, Arnold." Miles said as he set the cards in his hand face down on the table, turning his chair toward his son. Phil and Ernie grumbled as they did the same, while Vincent looked on with cards still in hand, not saying a word.

"Can't you see we're in the middle of something, Arnold!? It's our Saturday game!" Ernie grouched.

"Oh, leave the boy alone," Phil snapped at him. "He's probably having trouble with his little girlfriend. Although, it seems _my_ advice isn't good enough anymore." Phil let out a loud, theatrical sigh, turning his head away in an exaggerated performance so cheesy Arnold had to roll his eyes.

"You can help too, Grandpa."

"Good, now spill it!" The old man jumped up and spun around in his chair a little too excitedly, lucky that the old wooden legs didn't snap and give out beneath him. Not like it would have been the first time, of course. Miles raised an eyebrow at him, not knowing why his father would be so enthusiastic about such a thing.

"You okay, Dad...?"

"Shhh!" Phil scolded. "Don't take this away from me!"

Arnold crossed his arms. Once again, he had to be the adult in the room. "Guys, please. I don't have a lot of time. Helga's on her way over, and so are my other friends, so can you please just listen?"

"Sorry, kid." Miles reached out and touched Arnold's shoulder. "Go ahead."

Arnold took a deep breath and let it out slowly to calm himself. "As you know, the new girl's parents are bringing her over to hang out with the gang and I. She's kind of shy, a little...weird, but not in a bad way..."

Arnold's dad and grandpa listened intently as he spoke, nodding along as Ernie and Vincent played hangman on a napkin. "So what's the problem, Arnold?" Miles asked curiously.

"Oh, I think I know what the problem is," Phil said with a wicked smirk. "Trouble in paradise, Short Man?"

Arnold gulped and nodded slowly. "Kind of... Helga's all over the place about this new girl. She's really suspicious of her on one hand. Like... I think Helga's worried that Daisy wants to get between us or something."

"Helga? The jealous type!?" Phil said in fake shock.

"Have you talked with her about it?" Miles asked as he briefly side-eyed his dear old dad.

"Yeah, and that's the thing. She doesn't really _want_ to go back to her old ways, you know? She doesn't want to be the bully anymore, and she's really sensitive about it. She wasn't always like this, I mean she used to revel in torturing me, but... Ever since we've been together, it really depresses her."

"The guilt, that is. She feels guilty for being mean, slipping into old habits," Miles said with an understanding nod.

"Yeah. What do I do? I don't want her to do anything she'll regret, but I don't want her to feel bad if I bring it up either..." Arnold sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, looking down at the table in thought as he head hung low.

Phil took a deep breath, leaning back and scratching his chin. "Well, for starters, she is...what, eleven years old? Sounds like she ought to talk to her mom, or her sister maybe."

"Huh?" Arnold asked, clueless as to what that meant.

"I'm just saying, mother nature-"

"DAD!" Miles looked at his father wide-eyed and red-faced. "We don't want him to die of awkwardness, do we?" Miles glanced back at Arnold, who at this point had already figured out what his grandfather was getting at. His face had turned scarlet, and he was staring off into space like he just saw the ghost of Four-Eyed Jack.

"...Good point." Phil scratched his head in thought, trying to think of a way to approach the situation without making it weird for the poor boy. "Alright, look. Maybe it's mother nature, maybe it's just Helga getting stuck in her old ways. Point is, you gotta figure this out quick before she kills ya!"

"Grandpa, she's not going to kill me."

"She might! Why, when I was about your age, I had the same darn problem."

"You had a girlfriend at my age?" Arnold asked innocently.

"Yes, I did in fact have a girlfriend. Sheesh..." Phil said in a sour, grumpy voice, offended by some implication Arnold clearly never intended. "Anyway, there was a new girl in town, and boy was she nice! Just as friendly as could be, wouldn't harm a fly! Pretty girl, too. Problem was, my girlfriend hated her! Never knew why. She just did, simple as that. One day, the new girl was out in the park flying a kite around, having the time of her life, and the gosh darn thing got stuck in a tree. Big tree too!"

"So what did you do, Grandpa?"

"Well, I happened to be nearby, so I climbed that towering old tree and knocked the thing loose! I was a hero, far as she was concerned! But when I got down, hooboy did I have Heck waiting for me! My girlfriend chased me up and down the park with a great big machete! Big as a sword, it was! Big enough to chop me right in half!"

Arnold rolled his eyes. "Grandpa, there's no way she chased you with a machete."

"You want to see the scar!?"

"Dad, we should really get to the point," Miles said as he crossed his arms. "And for the record, I don't believe there was a machete involved."

"Well, the point is, you gotta keep your girl happy. Or she will chase you with a bladed weapon."

"Okay, the first half of that doesn't sound crazy," Miles cut in. "All you can do is talk with her, Arnold. Just make sure you listen to her too. I know you're used to doing the talking, dishing out wisdom, but make sure you give her the time she needs to vent. You never know, she could just talk herself out of it."

"Thanks, guys." Arnold said with a sigh of relief. Just then he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and feeling he had an idea who it was, he pulled it out and sure enough his suspicion was confirmed. "Helga's here. See you guys in a bit!"

As Arnold got up and rushed out of the kitchen to get the front door, Phil and Miles turned back to their card game. Ernie let out a big heaving sigh, crumpling up the napkin and tossing it over his shoulder before picking his cards up. Every word Ernie had put down, Vincent guessed correctly, while Vincent's words had stumped him every time. Ernie was not thrilled about that.

Phil picked up his hand and looked over his cards once more. "By the way, she absolutely _did_ have a machete. Or was it a chainsaw...?"

" _By the way_ , didn't you have your first date at the Circle Theater? After the war? That's what you told me," Miles said with a knowing, half-lidded glare. Phil reached up and scratched his head, realizing he'd been caught in a contradiction.

"Oh, I don't remember telling you _that_. You must have your stories mixed up," Phil said with a nervous chuckle.

"WHO WANTS PIE!?" Gertie said loudly as she suddenly leaned over next to Phil, holding a pie in one hand and a big, sharp knife in the other. Phil screamed and fell out of his chair, throwing his cards all over.

"IT WAS JUST A KITE, POOKIE!" He cried out, holding his arms up to try and shield himself.

Miles rolled his eyes as his mother laughed like a madwoman, wondering if perhaps there was more truth to the tale than he originally thought.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Where the heck are Gerald and Phoebe, anyway?" Helga asked as she and Arnold walked into the living room and sat on the couch to wait for them. Her voice wasn't quite the same, Arnold noticed. It was just slightly raspier than usual, and she seemed reluctant to raise her voice much.

"They should be here soon, I think." Arnold tilted his head, reaching over to put his hand on her back. "Helga, are you sure you're not sick?"

Helga rolled her eyes. For the past couple days Arnold heard her cough like, maybe two or three times, and the little Football Head thought she was sick. It's freaking January, everybody's coughing. That's what she thought, anyway. She loved that he cared enough to worry, but she didn't like the idea that she might not be taking enough care of herself. "I'm fine, Arnoldo. I just woke up with a sore throat is all..."

"A sore throat could mean you're sick, you know..."

"Criminy, it's just because..." She paused, closing her eyes as she knew she'd have to go into a subject that was sensitive for her. "The furnace stopped working a couple days ago. Big Bob insists on fixing it himself, meaning it's not getting fixed any time soon..."

Arnold rubbed her back in slow, soothing motions as he listened. "Wow. I'm sorry to hear that, Helga..."

Helga sighed as she slouched in her seat, leaning back and to the side so that she lay against him, making herself comfortable as he put his arm around her and rubbed her shoulder. "You know last night I had, like, three blankets on me. And I was wearing socks. Can you imagine if my room had windows? Then I'd _definitely_ be sick."

"I could ask my dad to take a look at your furnace. Maybe he could help your dad fix it."

"Please don't," Helga said quietly. "You know I don't like... I don't like everyone getting all involved in our business like that..."

"Maybe I could come over and bring a space heater," Arnold suggested quietly. To be honest, he was hopeful that she'd be receptive to the idea. In the months they've been together so far, he still had yet to visit her at her place, or even see her room. If they were going to spend their time cooped up together, it was always at Arnold's house.

"Ugh, this again? We have a couple space heaters somewhere, it's just...finding them, is all. A lot of stuff is still packed... But anyway, I told you, you do _not_ want to see what goes down there. Big Bob will have another screaming match with the phone. Or maybe with Miriam. That sound like fun? Something you want to see? Or how about Olga whining about this, that, or the other thing? Not to mention the place is falling to pieces. You know how much sleep I've lost just because I thought I heard a rat?"

"It can't be all bad, Helga. I just wonder is all, you know? Like, I want us to share those kinds of things."

Helga crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm sorry but I just... I can't. Not yet. It's not really _home_ for me, and... Gaaah, I don't want to talk about this."

Arnold was prepared to fight her on it, but he recalled his conversation with his father earlier. Deciding not to push the subject too much, he simply nodded and shrugged his shoulders. "Alright. Just be careful, okay? I won't ask my dad to help, and I won't come over with a space heater. I just don't want you to get sick, that's all."

"Okay," she replied softly. "Also, it's nice that you're worried about me, but... I don't know..."

"You can tell me, Helga. Whatever's on your mind, I'm all ears."

"I guess, like... I like knowing that you care like that, that you worry about me being okay and all, but... I don't really _want_ you to worry, you know? I'm okay. I'm a little tired, and my throat's a _tiny_ bit sore, but that's all, so don't go making a big thing of it, okay?"

Arnold looked down at her as she spoke, and couldn't help but smile. He could tell that in her own way, she cared enough to worry about him too. "Okay, Helga."

"And thanks. You know, for...for caring."

"You're welcome." Arnold took a deep breath and let it out slowly, rubbing her shoulder as he pulled his phone out and checked the time. "They should almost be here."

Helga opened her eyes and looked out the window. "You hear that? Sounds like someone just pulled up."

"Could be my mom with some grocery stuff too. I'll go check." Arnold carefully pulled his arm away and stood up from the couch. Before walking away, however, he leaned toward Helga and kissed her forehead. She swooned at that, a big smile coming over her face as she watched him walk away.

"Oh, Arnold, my love..." She whispered. Why did she have to disappoint him, she wondered? All he wanted was to hang out like a normal couple. But she wanted to show him a home, and she didn't have her home anymore.

As she stared at him with all these thoughts running through her head, however, she suddenly let out a spontaneous little wretch. She cleared her throat and watched Arnold closely, thankful to find that he hadn't noticed. The last thing she needed was for him to catch one stupid little dry heave.

Arnold looked out the window in the front door and swallowed hard. He took a deep breath and walked back to the entrance to the living room. "So it's not my mom, and it's not Gerald and Phoebe..."

"Crap..." Helga sighed as she stood up and joined him. Arnold called back to his dad in the kitchen, letting him know that the new girl was here already. Miles and Phil both came in as Ernie whined about their card game yet again, storming out of the kitchen and up to his room.

Arnold opened the door before they could knock, and there was Daisy with her parents.

Daisy's mom spoke first. "Hi! You must be Arnold's dad?"

"You got it! I'm Miles, and this is my father, Phil, and of course my son, Arnold. Oh, and his girlfriend Helga. Welcome to the Sunset Arms!" Miles said cheerfully before standing aside. "Come on in, warm yourselves up."

"Oh, thank you so much!" The trio stepped inside, stomping snow off their shoes as Phil reached over and shut the door behind them.

"Hey, Arnold. Hey, Helga." Daisy gave Arnold and Helga a little wave. Once everyone was settled, with their coats and gloves off and their shoes dry, Daisy's mom took it upon herself to introduce the family.

"I'm Grace Collins, and this is my husband Daniel, and our girl Daisy."

"My friends back home call me Tiny," her rather imposing father said quietly.

Miles blinked a little, but he was quick on his feet and decided to table his questions for now. "Nice to meet you all! I'm sorry my wife couldn't be here, she's out doing a little shopping. Come, sit down, make yourselves at home."

As his father led everyone into the living room, Arnold couldn't help but notice how different Daisy's parents were from each other.

Grace wasn't a whole lot taller than her, and very thin. Her hair was black and somewhat wavy, though it was quite short as well. With her loose, cozy sweater and bright blue eyes behind a pair of wiry-framed glasses, she had a very calm, peaceful aura overall. Helga thought she seemed like someone who'd curl up on the couch with a book and a cup of tea.

Her dad, meanwhile, was a mountain of a man. Arnold didn't realize from the quick glimpse he got in the store just how tall he was, or that under his winter coat he was built like a tank. If he didn't know any better he'd think the man was the kind of wrestler Helga might have enjoyed watching as he beat his opponent to a bloody pulp. With his silver crew cut hair, steely green-eyed gaze, and thick mustache, the image of an extremely intimidating strongman type was complete. However, while he carried himself like a cop or a soldier, Arnold noticed how little the man spoke and wondered if he wasn't quite as scary as he seemed on the surface.

Whatever the case, Miles wasn't shaken at all. "So, Tiny? That's, um...quite the nickname."

"I'll say!" Phil exclaimed with a bit of a chuckle. Miles winced at his father's lack of maturity and hoped their guests could ignore it.

The imposing man cleared his throat a bit before responding in a very deep, gravelly voice. "Had it since I was a kid. 'Bout your boy's age, actually. Tallest kid in class, I was..." He shrugged as he tapped his fingers together. "Even the guys at the prison used it all the time."

"The prison...?" Miles asked quietly, trying not to seem too alarmed.

He nodded slowly. "I, uh... I was a corrections officer at a maximum security correctional institution for twenty years. But I'm retired now, so..." He shrugged, stiffening a bit and averting Miles's gaze as he thought about the life he had before Grace got sick and everything had to change. He knew how he tended to come across to people outside of work, and he preferred to avoid it. He glanced back at him and continued. "I guess I'm a pretty regular guy otherwise..."

Noticing how tense he was, Grace carefully and subtly took his hand in both of hers, rubbing the back of his hand with her palm as if to soothe him.

"I'll say, we're so happy our little girl is making friends here. It can be hard making new friends in a new area, and not even just for her! It's nice for us too. Getting out of the house, meeting new people..."

Arnold, Helga, and Daisy sat awkwardly to one side of the room while the adults got to know each other. Carefully, Arnold pulled out his phone and sent a group text to Helga and Daisy together, asking if they'd like to head up to his room so they could hang out on their own like they planned. They both nodded their heads discretely, and Arnold looked over at his dad.

"Hey, um, I don't mean to interrupt anybody but... Is it alright if we head upstairs to wait for Gerald and Phoebe?"

Miles nodded. "Sure, I don't see why not. I'll let you know when Mom gets home."

Grace turned and looked at Daisy. "Go have fun, sweetie! We'll be down here if you need us, okay?"

Daisy smiled as she got up went to her parents. "Thanks, Mommy. Love you guys." She bent down to kiss her mom on the cheek, and gave her dad one for good measure before following Arnold and Helga upstairs.

Daisy looked around wide-eyed and impressed, nodding along at the various gizmos and gadgets in his room. "Sweet digs, man."

"Uh, thanks!" Arnold rubbed the back of his neck. As awkward as it was having Helga up there, two girls? Without Gerald or any of the other guys? He couldn't help but blush a little. Daisy rolled her eyes a bit when he wasn't looking.

"Yeah, my room's not even set up yet. I mean I got my bed, my night stand, but... I got a lot of stuff I still need to put up." Daisy glanced over at Helga. "How about you? Bet you got the coolest room out of all of us."

Helga rolled her eyes. "Not so fast, sister. A lot of my stuff is in boxes too."

"New house, eh? Nice. How come Arnold hasn't helped you unbox that stuff anyway?"

"House? You're too kind," Helga snarled. "My stupid dad moved us into his stupid vanity project. That run down pile of crap he calls a Beeper Emporium."

Daisy's eyes widened. "You guys live there? Huh. Our new house isn't far from there."

"You mean you've seen it!?" Helga said a little more panicked than she wanted to sound.

"Um... Yeah, I have. Also," she says before turning to Arnold this time, "You haven't helped her out with her stuff?" She was clearly only teasing, but from the nervous looks they both gave, Daisy was starting to understand.

"I um... She hasn't... I mean, I haven't... It's..." Arnold struggled to find the right words, or even decide if he should say anything at all. Thankfully, Daisy held up her hand.

"It's alright. I read you guys loud and clear." As much as she wondered why Arnold had never been to her house before, she knew it must be a sensitive subject and decided to move on to something less controversial. "So, when are Gerald and...Phoebe?"

"Yes, that's right." Arnold shrugged. "I'm not sure. They should be here-" Arnold was cut off by his phone, and a quick glance at the screen brought a smile to his face. "Right about now."

* * *

With everyone finally gathered together, Helga took to lying on the red couch to give everyone else the extra room to sit on the floor together, with Arnold and Phoebe sitting in front of her and Daisy sitting across from them. Gerald, meanwhile, sat backwards on Arnold's desk chair, leaning against the back with his arms folded under his chin.

"No offense, but your dad freaks me out," Helga said casually as she worked at a bag of cheese balls, tossing one in her mouth every so often. Daisy only laughed at that.

"Yeah, he comes off big and mean sometimes, but he's a teddy bear underneath. You want to know what his favorite movie is? Like, of all time?"

"It's not _Full Metal Jacket_ is it?" Helga asked curiously.

"I was going to say _The Abdicator_ but that's a TV show, so..." Arnold shrugged.

"One of the _Terminator_ movies?" Gerald added.

" _Aguirre, the Wrath of God_?" Phoebe suggested, getting dumbfounded looks from the others. "What? It's a classic..."

"Nope. My dad's favorite movie of all time, I kid you not, is _Dirty Dancing_."

Helga blinked, tilting her head almost a full 90 degrees. "Wait, wait, wait... You're telling me your dad, that big scary dude downstairs, would say _Dirty Dancing_ is his favorite movie of all time? That's...kind of hilarious. What a dope," Helga said as she couldn't help snickering.

"He's not a dope," Daisy said firmly, to the surprise of Helga and everyone else. "Or scary, actually. He just likes those sappy 80s romance movies for some reason." She shrugged and leaned back against the wall.

"Speaking of sappy, what's with the goodbye kisses for 'mommy' and 'daddy' anyway?" Helga pressed on, setting the cheese balls aside.

"Helga..." Arnold sighed, hoping they could be done with all this.

"What? I'm just trying to get to know the new girl. That's what you wanted, right?"

"It's okay, Arnold," Daisy said quietly, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "Family's always been kind of affectionate, I guess. Even more tight-knit now, all things considered. You just..." She paused, looking away from everyone for a moment. "You never really know how much time you've got with the people you love. It's like, when you love someone it feels like they're always going to be there. But the clocks don't wait for anyone, you know?" Daisy folded her knees up against her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "I guess I... I just want to cherish every moment I have with them. That's all."

Arnold stared at her and thought about what his grandfather told him a few months ago. He slowly reached up to take Helga's hand, but not to comfort her. This time it was he who needed her comfort, as dark thoughts ran through his mind. Even though he had his parents returned to him, he spent most of his life feeling like they were lost forever, and the thought that one day such a feeling could return to him left him terrified.

"Bah, no offense but that's too touchy-feely for me," Helga grouched. "I can't imagine pulling any of that fluffy kissy crap with my parents. It's gross," she grumbled.

"It's sad that you feel that way," Daisy said quietly.

"You mocking me, Team Edward?"

"No, I really mean that." Daisy inched herself a little closer, staring at Helga with her eyes narrowed, as if she was trying to read the fine print in Helga's eyes. "You and your family don't get along too well, do you? At least you and your parents..."

Helga scowled. "Stop. Trying. To read me," she growled.

Daisy realized she was right, and that she had touched a serious nerve. She held her hands up and backed away. "Fair enough. But I meant no disrespect, honest..." She swallowed hard, trying to think of a way to ease the tension, as much for her own sake as for Helga's. "Also I never cared about those movies. Or the books. I like my vampires a little spookier."

Seeing an opportunity, Phoebe cut in cheerfully. "Have you read _Within the Realm of Shadows_ by any chance? It was originally a German novel in fact. The original title-"

"Was _Reich der Schatten_ ," Daisy interrupted with a big smile. "I loved that one! Especially since it was romantic _and_ scary."

"Wait... You read _Within the Realm of Shadows_...?" Helga asked curiously, her sour mood starting to fade away.

"Sure did. Remember the bit in the mausoleum?" A wicked smirk grew on her face as Phoebe giggled and nodded, her face turning red. Arnold and Gerald exchanged confused looks and shrugged.

"Remember it?" Helga said as she started to sit up. "That was my favorite part! I had dreams about it for days," she said with an enthusiasm that surprised Arnold. She couldn't help but smirk at him as his face turned red. Before speaking, however, she found she had to clear her throat first. "Relax, Football Head. You're still my favorite." As she winked at him, his face only got even more red. She continued, "Finally, someone else has read that thing. Like, no one else in our class even knows about it. Just us two!"

"You know, you two could probably do a great Max and Lucia cosplay thing. Or maybe for Halloween later this year?" Daisy chimed in. "I can help with the makeup!"

"Max and Lucia, eh?" Helga glanced at Arnold with a wicked grin. "You would have to dye your hair, you know."

"I'd give you a million bucks to see that!" Gerald laughed.

Arnold's eyes widened. "No thanks. I just have a feeling that would be a disaster..."

Helga rolled her eyes. "What a baby," she joked. Careful to avoid stepping on Arnold or Phoebe, she got up from the couch and found a spot on the floor between him and Daisy. "You know, the sequel's coming out pretty soon. How about we all read it together? You, me, and Phoebe. We can make a thing of it, like do a group call or something. Just us girls."

Daisy stared at her for a moment. If one had asked her even a minute or two ago, she would have swore that Helga still didn't like her. It occurred to her that perhaps Helga was more of an enigma than she was used to. Either way, the realization that they found a mutual interest they could bond over brought a warm smile to her face. "That...sounds great. You sure you really, like...want to include me on that? I mean... I don't know, I just... I don't know..."

Helga paused to choose her words carefully. "Yeah, I'm sure. You're a real freak, that's for sure, but...maybe you're not a freak in a bad sort of way. I've got my freaky side too, for what it's worth."

"Thanks, Helga. And you don't seem so bad to me." Daisy yawned a bit. "So uh, the boys haven't read it yet? They'd probably like it too."

"Pshhh, you kidding? They don't have the kind of sophisticated reading tastes we have. They're still stuck on that She-Ninja stuff," Helga said with a smirk, giving Arnold a little poke in the ribs with her elbow.

"Hey! That's not the only thing I read..." Arnold said as he looked away with an embarrassed look on his face and rubbed the back of his neck.

"It has its merits," Gerald added quietly.

"Uh-huh." Helga rolled her eyes at that, glancing over toward Arnold's book shelf. A thought came to her suddenly, and she gave Arnold the side eye. "Say, have you been reading the _other_ material you just got?"

Arnold thought for a moment before he realized what she meant. "Uhhhh... Crap..."

Helga rolled her eyes. "I gave him all my poetry books for Christmas, and the little dweeb hasn't read 'em yet. Can you believe that?"

Arnold gulped. "I'm sorry, Helga. It's just that, well... I've been spending so much time _with_ you, I haven't had much time to read anything really."

"Yeah, well that's when you _make_ time to read. Doi..."

"She's right, you know," Daisy said with a little shrug.

"See?" Helga crossed her arms and turned her head away from him. "I tried real hard to think of a nice Christmas gift, you know..."

Sensing that her feelings might actually be a little hurt, Arnold reached over and touched her shoulder. "I'm really sorry. I promise you, I'm going to read it. _All_ of it."

"Whatever you say, Arnold. I'll be checking to make sure-" she felt a sudden tickle in her throat and had to cough, wincing at how it agitated the sore spot she woke up with.

"Are you okay?" Daisy asked with a concerned tone.

Helga nodded and wheezed, "I'm fine..."

"No, you're getting sick." Daisy said sternly. "Hang on a sec. My mom's got some really great cough drops downstairs." Quickly she jumped up, dashed past the group, and went downstairs in a hurry. Arnold watched her dash off and then looked at Helga.

"That's nice of her."

"Yeah but I'm not sick," Helga grumbled as she finally got a handle on her voice again.

"Still, at least she cares."

Helga opened her mouth to say something else, but started coughing once more. As Arnold started to rub her back, she started to cough so hard she felt like gagging. Her eyes went wide as she started dry-heaving, feeling her throat open up. Phoebe stood up and started looking around the room for a bucket or a trash bin of some sort, already anticipating what was coming next.

Helga looked into Arnold's eyes and gulped. "Crap..." She prepared herself for the next dry heave, only it didn't come up dry. As Daisy walked back into the room, cough drops in hand, Helga let forth a torrent of orange vomit all over the front of Arnold's shirt.


	24. Sweet Dreams

**Hearts of Gold**

24\. Sweet Dreams

"I still can't believe she had that much to barf up," Gerald said with a shiver.

"In fairness, she had been working on that bag of cheese balls the whole time we were up there," Phoebe replied quietly.

"She should try ginger-based remedies some time. Mom used ginger candies but there's a bunch of stuff. Ginger tea, ginger gum, so on. Really helps the Nausea," Daisy suggested.

"Indeed, ginger has been known to alleviate nausea for some people," Phoebe said with a little smile, impressed that Daisy knew about that.

"Do you think she's gonna be okay, Phoebe?" Arnold asked in a worried tone, staring down at his math textbook.

"I'm sure she'll be fine. It's just the flu. I'd be surprised if she didn't come back before the end of the week." She then adjusted her glasses and cleared her throat. "I understand your concern, Arnold, but perhaps we should go back to studying. After all, that is why they call this study hall."

Arnold took a quick glance around the library to make sure he wasn't about to be shushed by anyone, and he sighed. "Yeah, I know..."

"Cheer up, man. You're acting like she's on her death bed or something. I'm pretty sure you can't catch Monkeynucleosis twice," Gerald chuckled. However, Arnold was not amused and kept staring down at his textbook.

Daisy kept her eye on him the whole time as she sat beside him, her book open to the same page as everyone else's. She left her pencil on the table, completely disinterested in work even as Gerald and Phoebe multitasked. Of course, she could tell Arnold was disinterested too. His eyes were clearly unfocused and unmoving, not reading so much as a single letter or number on the page. His pencil barely sat in his hand at all as he slowly dragged the tip back and forth over the surface of the table, not even putting enough pressure down to leave a mark.

He could barely maintain the facade of someone who was trying to get some work done, and yet as Daisy looked around the table, she realized she was the only one to notice it. That or his old friends simply wanted to give him some space. Either way, she could tell that he wouldn't be able to get much work done at all if he was too busy worrying about Helga, and so far no one else had successfully calmed his fears or relieved him of any sadness from missing her.

"Hey Gerald!"

Gerald winced at that familiar, terrible sound, turning and looking at his little sister. He hated when he found out that he and his classmates would have to share the library with the third graders during study hall. He didn't care that it was temporary. He didn't care that they were supposed to be separated. He knew none of that would matter to Timberly, and he knew that the library couldn't possibly be big enough to keep her away from him for very long anyway. So he hated it.

"Gerald, can you help me with this math sheet? Since you're doing math stuff and all, I figured maybe I could sit here with you?" She asked as she held up her math folder and the various worksheets within.

"Timberly, you're not even supposed to be over here," Gerald said as he did his best not to snarl.

"It'll just be a minute or two, I only need help with one side. Please?"

Gerald looked at Phoebe, who reached over and touched his arm as if to try and keep him calm. He sighed and stood up. "Come here..." Confused, Timberly followed him as he walked to the other end of the library and took a knee. He knew yelling would be useless, and he also knew it would get him in trouble, so he spoke to her as calmly as he could.

"Look, I know you know you're not supposed to be on our side of the library."

"But-"

"But more importantly, you're not supposed to be bugging us older kids. Especially your big brother. Now I ain't gonna rat you out, but you have to stay over here and figure it out yourself, okay?"

"But Gerald, you're right there, and you could help me finish this so fast, and-"

"Timberly, if you still need my help then I'll help you after school, but right now I gotta go be with my friends, okay?"

The young girl winced at the way he said "friends" like that, but slowly she nodded, took in a deep breath, and exhaled quietly. "Fine. Go be with your _friends_."

"Thanks, Sis. I'll see you after school, okay?"

"Whatever... I'm sorry. I'll see you later, I guess." She walked off and sat down at her own table, turning her back to him. Gerald watched her to make sure she got to work on her own before going back to his table.

"How did it go?" Phoebe asked. "You weren't too angry with her, were you?"

Gerald shook his head proudly. "Nope. I set her straight, told her she had to work on it by herself for now, but she understood. She's not the same as she used to be, you know." He took a deep breath as he looked back down at his math book. "I think it's just that, you know... With everything going on, we can't afford to be fighting all the time like we used to..."

"Sorry to hear that," Daisy chimed in. "But hey, at least you two are getting along now, right? I always kind of wanted a little sister, to be honest."

"Yeah, well they can be a real pain for a while." Gerald rolled his eyes and looked at Arnold. "Remember the chocolate turtles?"

Arnold grimaced at the memory. "Don't remind me." He looked up at Gerald with a small half smile, the first time he'd looked up from the table since study hall started. "I don't think the Campfire Lasses have been back to the boarding house ever since. Then again, ever since Grandpa saw the 'Phantom Campfire Lass' that one time, we probably never bothered with them much either."

"Really missed a lot, didn't I? Not sure I'll ever catch up," Daisy said with an eye roll.

"Yeah..." Arnold said with a voice much quieter. Daisy noticed that her choice of words seemed to strike a chord in Arnold for some reason, and he went back to being all depressed again. Gerald noticed too, and decided to give it one more shot.

"So, I know it's a school night and everything, but how about you and me do something after school? Maybe hit the arcade or something?" Gerald sounded hopeful, not only for Arnold's sake, but for his own too.

Arnold sighed, however, and didn't look up from the table. "I'm sorry, Gerald. I'd love to hang out, but I just feel lousy. Besides, I'll probably have to work on a bunch of homework when I get home anyway. Study hall is almost over and I really didn't get anything done."

Gerald stared at him for a moment and then sighed quietly. He wanted to be angry, but he could tell this wasn't anything personal. He knew he'd probably miss Phoebe too if she was sick like that. "Alright, man. It's cool. I know you're down and everything, but I hope you get over this funk, alright? Helga will be back before you know it."

"Thanks, Gerald. I owe you one, okay?" Arnold held his fist out without looking up.

"I'll hold you to it." Gerald met his fist and they shook thumbs on it. Daisy blinked at the display, still not sure what kind of shake it was.

All through the rest of study hall, which wasn't long, Daisy watched Arnold as he barely completed two math problems. When the bell finally rang and they all returned to their classroom, he was practically a zombie. The only time he seemed animated at all was when he checked his phone in the hallway. Though their conversation must have been very brief, whatever Helga told him was enough for him to send a new wave of concern over him. However, powerless as he was, his concern gave way to misery once more.

She knew there was only one thing that could help him, so she decided that when school was over for the day, she was going to have to talk to him alone somehow.

* * *

After a rather lonely bus ride without Helga, Arnold was relieved to get off at their old bus stop, Gerald and Phoebe in tow as usual. Daisy got off there as well, starting on the same route home that Helga and Phoebe usually took. Timberly got off there too, now that she was riding the same bus as her big brother.

"You gonna be okay, Arnold?" Gerald asked as he put a hand on Arnold's shoulder. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were the one who was sick."

"I'll be fine, Gerald."

Gerald shrugged and looked at Phoebe with a smirk. "Catch you later, babe. Stay in touch?" She giggled as he made the "phone" gesture with his thumb and pinky finger.

"Of course!" She stood on her toes, prompting him to lean down so she could kiss his cheek. Timberly couldn't quite stifle her laughter enough, hiding her grin behind her gloved hands.

"Don't start," Gerald warned. "One day you'll have a boyfriend, then we'll see what's so funny."

"As if!"

Daisy and Phoebe exchanged glances as they both tried not to laugh themselves. Even Arnold, gloomy as he'd been all day, couldn't help smirking at the amusing brother-sister banter.

It was then that Daisy's phone went off in her pocket, playing an old fashioned synth-pop beat. She glanced up as she retrieved her phone, understanding the looks they were giving her. "Eurythmics. Love them," she said with a shrug.

Their confused looks did not cease. Daisy just rolled her eyes and smiled.

She cleared her throat as she answered the phone. "Hey, Daddy. What's up? …Oh…" The smile on her face faded as she nodded slowly, shuffling her feet on the ground. Arnold and Gerald looked at each other curiously, hoping this wasn't about her mom. "No, no, it's okay. Don't worry about me, I have some money. I'll just get something on the way home… It's okay, really. You guys just worry about you guys, okay? …Okay… Love you, Daddy. See you when I get home…" She sighed as she hung up and put her phone away.

"Everything okay?" Arnold asked quietly.

Daisy nodded. "Daddy's check got messed up at the bank or something, so we couldn't get any food today. I guess it'll be sorted out tomorrow, but for now I'll have to fend for myself."

"Oh. That really bites," Arnold said with a little shrug.

"I got an idea! Why don't we all go to Slausen's for ice cream!" Timberly said eagerly. "Come on, Gerald, you know that's a good idea!"

Gerald sighed. "Not today, Timberly. You got homework to do, remember?"

"Yeah, only because you didn't help me," she said with a scowl.

Daisy stared down at her feet, and then an idea hit her. She had hoped to get Arnold alone to talk with him, and she realized this was her only shot. "Hey, Arnold…"

"Hm?"

"Slausen's isn't just ice cream, right? They got other stuff there too, like real food?"

Arnold blinked, having forgotten for a moment just how new she was to the area. "Uh, yeah. You haven't been there yet?"

"Nope. Think you could show me where to find it?"

Arnold stared at her, and for a moment he recalled how paranoid Helga was acting with her last week. Could she be right after all, he wondered? Before he could say anything, however, Gerald spoke up for him.

"He's got a mountain of homework I think. Right, Arnold?"

Daisy looked over at Gerald. "If he needs any help with it, he can call me. I'm pretty good at math." She then turned back to Arnold. " Or you could call Gerald or Phoebe. We'll help you, whatever you need."

Gerald looked at Daisy curiously, eyes narrowed and brow raised, wondering why she was so set on Arnold walking her there. To his surprise, Arnold sighed and shrugged his shoulders, apparently giving in.

"Alright, Daisy. It's not too far anyway." Arnold gave Gerald a sheepish look, his friend now crossing his arms. "I'll call you a little later, okay?"

Gerald simply stared at him before slowly exhaling and nodding. "Alright, then. See you later." He looked at Phoebe, who was just as confused as him, before he and a still grumpy Timberly walked off toward home. Arnold sighed and looked over at Phoebe.

"I hope he knows I'm not, like…ditching him or anything. I really did plan on going right home, but…"

"I understand, Arnold. I'll talk to him." Not wanting Arnold to feel even more down, Phoebe gave him a hopeful smile. "Bye, Arnold. Bye, Daisy."

"Thanks, Phoebe. See you tomorrow."

"Later, Phoebe."

Now that Phoebe was gone, it was just the two of them. Daisy took a deep breath, shoving her hands in her pockets. She couldn't believe her plan actually worked. After giving Arnold a minute to tell his family that he wouldn't be home right away, she gave him a big smile and looked around the neighborhood. "Well then, lead the way!"

* * *

"Gotta say, this is pretty good," Daisy said before taking another bite of her crispy bacon sandwich. "My compliments to the pig."

"Very funny," Arnold laughed.

"No, I'm serious. Somehow I can tell this was a good pig," Daisy said much to Arnold's confusion. "It's like, I'm not just eating what the pig turned into. I'm eating everything the pig was, you know? Taking its whole life force into me, making my own life force even stronger. I can feel the spiritual energy of it."

Arnold just stared in disbelief, not sure what to say to that. "Uhhhhh... Okay then..." He finished his root beer float and dabbed at his face with his napkin. Since he had no clue how to continue the conversation from there, he decided to change the subject entirely and quit beating around the bush. "So, I just have to ask... Why did you bring me here, anyway?"

"Uhhh, you brought me, remember?" Daisy said with a raised brow and a smirk before taking one last big bite of her sandwich.

"Yeah, but I think you knew the way already. You didn't ask for any directions on the way here. Plus, you have a phone. You could have mapped it, so why ask me?" As Daisy stared at him, he recalled her sensitivity and swallowed hard. "I mean, I don't mind showing you around, I'm just curious what this is _really_ about..."

Daisy swallowed hard, washing it down with iced tea, and paused before responding. "I just wanted to get you alone for a minute, so we could clear the air on a few things."

Arnold took a deep breath. "I just have to say, Daisy, like... You're really nice and everything, but I have a girlfriend, and-"

"Yeah, about that. I know you have a girlfriend, Arnold. That's the point."

Arnold blinked. "...Huh?"

Daisy sighed and rolled her eyes before laughing and shaking her head. "You two, I swear... I'm not trying to steal you away from Helga, you dork!" She quickly started to look through her backpack until she pulled out some cash and left it on the table, pinning it under her plate. Before Arnold could say anything, she stood up and started to walk toward the exit.

"Hey! Daisy, wait!" He jumped up quickly and started walking after her, following her outside. "Daisy, listen, I'm... I'm sorry, it's just..."

Daisy stopped and spun around quickly, stopping him in his tracks. "I know what you're thinking, so let me just point something out. This is something I needed to make clear in person, okay? You just happened to be the one I could actually get alone. If it was you who got sick instead? And Helga was moping around school all day? I'd be having this talk with her right now."

"Why did you need to talk to us separately? You could have talked to us together."

Daisy rolled her eyes. "Do you really think that would have been a good idea? I can't be real with either of you if you're together because she'll get defensive and you'll argue over it."

Arnold gulped as he realized she just made a very good point.

"The whole point is that I don't want to start a conflict with you two, or _between_ you two. I just want to be your friend! But for some reason, no one seems to trust me. I haven't even known you guys for very long and everyone decided right away that I must be out to get you and Helga. What is it with you two anyway? Are you two some golden couple with everyone else under your spell?"

Arnold felt his heart sink as he realized that despite his best efforts, he had succumbed to the same paranoia that he'd warned Helga about. "Daisy, I'm really sorry. I'm...new at this whole relationship thing, so... I just want to protect it. Please don't be mad."

Daisy stared at him in silence for a moment, and her features softened. "I'm not mad. And for the record, so do I. It would devastate me if I somehow caused you two to break up. I'm not like that, I don't cherish conflict. Now come on." She turned and started walking once more, and Arnold noticed right away that it was not the way home.

"Um, Daisy? Where are we going? I mean, I can't... I can't go to your place right now, I really need to-"

"We're not going to my place, Arnold. And we're not going to your place either."

Arnold tilted his head as he quickly caught up to her. They walked in silence for a few minutes, the hard snow and ice crunching under their boots with every step. Arnold glanced over at her and caught her wiping her eyes. He winced as he felt the guilt punch him in the gut. "I'm really, really sorry. Are you sure you're okay, Daisy?"

Daisy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Yeah, I'm okay. I said what I needed to say. I just didn't... I didn't expect you to be suspicious of me too, that's all. I thought we were on the same page." She glanced over and noticed his head hanging low now, and she gave a gentle sigh before nudging his arm. "C'mon, chin up. It's over and done with, okay? I can't have you feeling all down and guilty either."

"I guess..." Arnold said as he kicked a little chunk of ice down the road. He looked up to watch it shatter against a parked car, and very quickly he realized where Daisy had taken him. There in the distance was Big Bob's Beeper Emporium. "Um... Huh?"

A smile slowly appeared on Daisy's face as she remembered the other reason she went on this little adventure with him. "I was wondering when you'd look up and see that. You really didn't know where we were going?"

"But why? Helga doesn't even know I'm coming. I don't know how she would feel about me just showing up there, uninvited."

"That's right, you've never actually been here before..." Daisy stroked her chin as she stared off in thought. "...Oh well. First time for everything, right? She'll be annoyed for sure, but she'll get over it, and she'll be glad you came. You'll see."

"But..." Arnold gulped. "Shouldn't I wait for Helga to-"

Daisy interrupted him by smacking herself in the forehead. "Arnold. Answer me this... Have you ever thought about how things would be if you told her how you felt instead of waiting for her to do it?"

Arnold was dumbstruck. He thought about how hard it was for Helga to admit her feelings, how scared she must have been all this time. He also thought about how much torture he could have avoided. "But I didn't realize how I felt until-"

"Bull. I can see it." Daisy stepped closer to him, staring deep into his eyes like the snake from _The Jungle Book_. Arnold gulped and took a step back as she kept going. "You knew how she felt about you long before she told you. Probably spent a long time in denial, but you knew. Deep down. What, you never thought about her? Never _dreamed_ about her, Arnold? Admit it. You knew it all along, didn't you?"

 _"Look, I know you're not this lazy and cold and uncaring! You may act like that, but deep down, I know you're smart and you have feelings, and if we have to be married to each other, then I want you to start showing it!"_

 _"I... I don't know what you're talking about..."_

 _"Yes you do, Helga! Why can't you just admit it? You're not this mean!"_

 _"Yes I am!_

 _"No, you're not! You're NOT!"_

 _"Okay, okay, you're right! I can't hide it anymore! You've seen through my tough, blustery exterior and into my soft, mushy, good-hearted center. It's true, I'm not this bad. I guess I was just afraid to show my real feelings, but you knew it all along, didn't you? I may be rough around the edges, but deep down, I'm a good person, and... I don't hate you. In fact I sort of like you... I mean, I actually... I sort of more than like you. I... I really like you... I really, really like you and, well heck, I... I like you so much that, you might say that I actually...love...that I actually...love..."_

 _"But you knew it all along didn't you?"_

 _"Didn't you?"_

"Didn't you?"

Arnold looked away from her and at the emporium. After a long pause he asked, "Why are you doing this?"

Daisy put her hand on his shoulder. "Because I've seen the way you two look at each other. And I saw how much you missed her today. And I'm willing to bet she missed you too." Arnold turned to look into this weird new friend's eyes, and she kept going. "I'm no idiot, Arnold. I understand why she's scared about you going in there. That's why you have to be brave enough for both of you and just do it." She chuckled lightly and raised an eyebrow. "I mean, your love's sick in there, dude! Go be with her, make her feel better."

A smile came over his face then, and impulsively he quickly gave Daisy a big, warm hug. "Thank you, Daisy."

Daisy laughed and shook her head as she hugged him back. "You're welcome, Arnold. Now get your butt in there."

As quickly as he had embraced her, Arnold broke away from Daisy and walked briskly toward the Beeper Emporium. Daisy stood and watched him for a minute, making sure he didn't chicken out and turn tail. Once she saw him knock on the door and get invited in, she turned around and started the walk back home.

Meanwhile, lurking in the shadows nearby, a figure unseen pulled out their phone and swiped through the recent photos. Arnold and Daisy hugging. Arnold and Daisy at Slausen's. Arnold walking into the Beeper Emporium.

The figure simply smiled and whispered, "Perfect."

* * *

"Who's that Pokémon!?"

"IT'S PIKACHU!"

"...It's Clefairy!"

" _F***!_ "

Helga could barely manage a chuckle, even though that meme had always made her laugh. She sighed slowly, careful not to agitate her throat since it was still sore and raspy from throwing up again earlier that day. She lay in bed in her pajamas, curled up on her side, staring at her phone screen as she waited for the next dumb meme in the compilation. A quick glance at the clock on her home screen reminded her that time was, in fact, as slow as it always was. She growled softly, though not softly enough to avoid a cough.

Once she stopped coughing, she glanced over at the tray beside her bed. Next to some medicine and a box of tissues sat an empty paper plate full of toast crumbs that she forgot to toss in the garbage basket, a fresh clean bucket to barf in, and a bottle of ginger ale that was nearly empty.

As she carefully propped herself up on her elbow and drank down the last couple sips of ginger ale, there was a quick knock on her door, just a little too loud, before her mom poked her head in. Helga was surprised, as it had been Olga doing all the work so far.

"Hey there, sweetie! How's my little girl feeling?"

Helga sighed, putting her phone away for now. "I'm bored. I'm cold. I miss my junk food. And I'm out of ginger ale. In short? I feel like crap, Miriam. Same as before."

"Poor dear... But look on the bright side, at least you're not throwing up again, right?"

Helga rolled her eyes. It was true, but she didn't need Captain Obvious to tell her that. "Sure..."

"Anyway, is there anything I can get you before I check on your father?"

Helga raised a brow. "What's wrong with him?" What she wanted to ask was what _else_ was wrong with him, of course.

"Oh, his IBS is acting up again. You know how it is."

Helga winced, not wanting to know that. "Fantastic... I guess some more ginger ale, maybe some crackers..."

"Alright, dear! You just get some rest, okay?" With that, Miriam took the empty plate and the bottle, closed the door a little too loudly, and left her alone once again.

Helga tried to lie down the way she was, but for some reason she wasn't quite comfortable enough. She tossed and turned, trying to find a decent position to lie in, but nothing seemed to work. She closed her eyes and groaned in frustration before deciding to bunch up some extra pillows and lift herself up to a sitting position against the wall. She started to wrap her blanket all around herself, but suddenly feeling a bit too warm, she decided to leave it over her legs for now.

She grabbed her TV remote and turned it on, flipping through channels until she settled on a show where a bunch of crazy guys run a bar in Philadelphia and get into all sorts of insane, offensive mischief together. A few minutes went by, and then there was another knock at her door. Sighing, she turned the TV down and turned to the doorway, waiting for her mom to come in with more pointless, unnecessary information. "Come in..."

To her surprise, it was Arnold who walked in this time, carrying a glass of ginger ale and a roll of saltine crackers. "Hey, Helga."

"Arnold!?" Helga rasped as she sat up straight, eyes wide with disbelief. Holding her hand over her chest she cleared her throat before continuing, "What the heck are you doing here?"

Arnold shrugged as he walked over, setting the crackers down on her tray and handing the fresh bottle over to her. "Well, I missed you all day today, and... All I wanted to do was see you."

"Well get a good look, Football Head. Criminy, didn't we talk about this?" Helga croaked as she crossed her arms. "You know this place is my own personal dungeon. What if-"

"Helga," Arnold interrupted, "I understand why you were worried about me being here, but look around. I'm here, and everything's okay." He walked around to the other side of her bed and sat beside her. "Have you been to a doctor yet?"

"Yeah, it's just flu season is all. Believe it or not I'm better than I was yesterday. Just a little tired from the coughing and the puking and my head feeling like a balloon..."

Arnold winced. "I can imagine..."

"I should be okay within the next couple days or so, most likely..." Helga crossed her arms as she let herself slouch a bit. "It's just lame is all. On top of how bored I am, I'm still coughing like crazy, and I thought I was done throwing up, but nope. I still got a little puke left in me I guess. The doc better not be wrong about this crap..."

Arnold nodded slowly, saddened to hear how miserable she's been. Helga started to lean toward him, but caught herself and instead leaned away.

"Are you sure you should be sitting so close? Or do you just _want_ to get sick?" Helga rolled her eyes as she leaned away from him.

"I'll be fine. I got my flu shot already, so..."

"Oh, he got his flu shot, good for him." Helga sighed, but then her sigh became a cough. Arnold reached over and gently put his hand on her back. Quickly her coughing turned into dry heaving, and she snatched the empty bucket from her tray, holding it firmly in front of her.

Arnold winced as he watched her wretch like that, feeling her start to tremble as he tried to rub her back in soothing circular motions.

Helga glanced up at him with tears in her eyes, looking through her tangled, unwashed hair. "I hate this so freaking much," she managed to get out before another dry, hoarse wretch.

"I know, Helga. I hate it too..."

It was then that Helga finally got something up and heaved into the bucket, and Arnold had to look away for a moment. He swallowed hard, hating to see her in such a miserable state. When he heard her set the bucket back down on the tray, he turned back to her and pulled up her blanket, wrapping it around her before guiding her to lie against him.

"My poor Helga," he said quietly as he held her there, reaching up to brush her hair away from her face. He then pressed the back of his hand against her forehead to get a sense of her temperature. Sure enough, she was still a little feverish, though he suspected it was going down. He reached over and grabbed her ginger ale, unscrewing the cap and handing it to her carefully.

She took a few sips, careful not to guzzle it all down right away. "So..." Helga said in almost a whisper as she screwed the cap back on and set the bottle down on the bed, "What do you think of the place? Real dumpster, isn't it?"

Arnold shrugged, looking around the room. There was a little clutter, of course, but he expected that. "Honestly it's not too bad. I wish you had windows, of course, but honestly-"

"I didn't want you to see me like this, you know..." Helga said with a sniffle as she closed her eyes and lowered her head, letting her hair hang down like curtains around her face. "You must think I'm so disgusting right now. Just a gross, revolting mess..."

Hearing that made Arnold's heart sink, and he gently touched her chin and guided her head back up, urging her to look at him. "Are you kidding?" he asked as she opened her eyes, looking up into his. "You'll always be beautiful to me."

Helga gulped. "You really mean that...?"

"Of course," Arnold said with that angelic smile of his. "You're my dream girl."

Helga gasped. "Really...?"

"Really."

Helga smiled as she stared up at him, then she carefully slipped out of the blankets enough to wrap her arms around him, closing her eyes as she laid her head against his chest and softly whispered, "Thank you, my love..."

"You're welcome..." He whispered as he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

Helga took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. At last she found just the right spot to get comfortable. "Hey, Arnold...?"

"Yes, Helga?"

"I'm really glad you're here... You should visit me more, okay?"

Arnold smiled widely at that. "I will. I promise..." As he held her there against him, he wondered how he ever could have denied his feelings for so long, or deny knowing hers for that matter. He kept rubbing her back in slow, comforting motions until he felt her starting to fall asleep. Carefully he slipped her arms away from him and slowly laid her down on the bed, tucking her in with her blanket.

He let out a long, quiet sigh as he brushed her hair away from her face with his fingers. Softly he whispered, "I knew it all along, didn't I..."

"Hm...?" Helga croaked quietly, still not opening her eyes.

"Nothing, baby... Just try and go back to sleep, alright?"

She nodded her head and quickly drifted off once more.

Arnold stayed there with her for a little while, just in case, before carefully creeping out of her room. Before closing the door, he glanced back at her one more time. "Sweet dreams, Helga..."

And sweet dreams she had.


	25. Lost and Found

**Hearts of Gold**

25\. Lost and Found

Daniel Collins sat on his couch and stared at his television, his arm wrapped around his wife, who was curled under a blanket asleep against him, and he cried. He was lost in memories still so fresh and vivid in his mind. Memories of a rich girl at a fancy resort full of old snobs and their young snob children, only she wasn't like them. She was kind, and compassionate, and as she looked in the eyes of one lucky outcast, she didn't see the trash so many others saw. She saw a good man full of life and fear and want.

She saw love.

Now, after so many complications in their relationship, just when all seemed lost, he knew that hope was on the horizon. They had changed each other's lives for the better, and though the end may be near, Daniel was ready to treasure every moment he had left.

Which was why he adjusted the volume one or two clicks higher, just in time to watch Patrick Swayze walk into the talent show, say his famous line, and for Daniel to whisper it with him: "Nobody puts Baby in a corner."

Grace stirred and slowly opened her eyes looking up at him. She couldn't help but roll her eyes and smile. She yawned before whispering, "I can't believe this movie still makes you cry..."

Daniel shrugged, grabbing a tissue and dabbing at his eyes as he smiled. "Can't help it..."

Grace sighed and took his hand in hers, and she began to rub it soothingly. "I know, honey. At least it's a good cry..." She whispered as she looked to the TV to watch the last big dance scene with him. She much preferred a good cry to a bad one. She winced at the brief reminder of sad, scary memories and pushed those thoughts away, focusing on the music.

A few moments later, Daisy came up from her room downstairs and tiptoed into the living room. She leaned over the couch, tilting her head as she realized her mother was actually awake. "Mom...? Did I wake you up?"

Grace turned and smiled up at her. "Hey, sweetie. And no, I was awake already." She took a deep breath and sat up straight, stretching her arms a bit as Daisy walked around and sat on the couch beside her. She embraced her mom in a warm hug, and smirked as her dad glanced over at her with teary eyes and a bashful smile.

"Hi, Daddy," Daisy said as she looked over at the TV and then back at him. "You know we're going to run out of tissues at this rate."

Daniel shrugged sheepishly and replied in that low, gravelly voice of his, "I know, honey..."

Grace sighed and laid her head on her daughter's shoulder. "What's up, baby? You need anything?"

"Nah, I'm good. Although..." Daisy trailed off, raising an eyebrow. "I was wondering one little thing..."

"Oh? What's that?"

"Wellllll... I was just thinking, since your hair's long enough now for you to dye it..."

"Watch it," Grace sassed playfully.

"Just, I'm old enough, I think, and like... I was thinking, maybe we could dye my hair some time?"

Even her father looked over at her then, curious to see where this would go. "What color were you thinking?" her mother asked as she reached up and started stroking her daughter's straight black hair.

"Um... I was thinking, uh... How about green?" Daisy crossed her fingers and flashed her mom a big, hopeful smile, even as her dad stifled a laugh.

"Green, huh?" Grace lifted her head and raised an eyebrow, staring at her daughter with a little smirk and narrow eyes. "We'll see. I'll think about it, alright?" Deciding to change the subject for now, she took Daisy's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "So! How's everything going with your new friends? Is Helga still sick?"

"I guess she's a lot better. Tomorrow's her last day off."

"Well, that's good. Poor thing, I hear it's a nasty flu going around. Did you bring her the little care package you made?"

"Um... Kind of." Her mom gave her a confused look as she cleared her throat to continue, "I gave it to Arnold, and he brought it to her. I would have brought it myself, but she's very picky about who gets to visit her. She's really only allowed Arnold to see her, and Phoebe who's been her best friend for years. Heck, Arnold only just got permission to go there and he's been the love of her life for basically forever."

Grace tilted her head at that. "I suppose I can understand being a little self conscious if she's sick, but with her feeling better... Let me guess, she's embarrassed about something. Doesn't want people over... Could be her house, or her room? Thinks the place is lame, doesn't want anyone to see it?"

"Pretty much. You know she lives at the Beeper Emporium, right? That's her dad's business, and apparently it's not doing so hot."

"I thought that place was closed down," her father chimed in as he kept his eyes on the TV.

"Goodness, the poor little girl..." Grace held her hand over her heart as she inferred the kind of life Helga must have if she and her family are stuck living in a place like that. She thought back to her younger days, to a time when her bedtime pillow would slowly sink down between the car door and the back seat she slept on over the course of the night. A time when she always wondered why her meals were so often cold and stale, up until she finally saw her mother and her aunt both rifling through a dumpster. "Do you know how bad it is?"

"No, but I'm hoping she lets me come over after school tomorrow. I'm thinking of doing something nice for her."

"Oh? What do you have in mind?"

"Well..." Daisy smiled bashfully and looked down at her feet as she shrugged her shoulders. "There's this book us girls like, Helga and Phoebe and I, and the sequel comes out tomorrow, so..."

Grace stares at her curiously for a moment before a light goes off in her head. "You mean that vampire book? I thought you were saving your money for that, sweetie..."

"I was, but... I can always save up for it again."

Grace smiled proudly and pulled her little girl in for a hug and a kiss on her head. "My gosh, you are just the sweetest girl in the world..." Daisy hugged her warmly in return as her father looked on with a smile of his own.

"Why, thank you!" Daisy said with a little chuckle as she pulled away, though she kept one arm around her mom to keep her close.

Grace rolled her eyes and laughed. "You're welcome, honey... By the way, are you waiting to give it to her the next day, or do you plan on getting it to Arnold somehow so he can give it to her tomorrow...? Since you can't visit yourself, that is."

Daisy shrugged. "I think I can get her to invite me to her place. If anyone can convince her, it's Arnold." She then gave her mother a mischievous smirk and continued, "Let me work my magic."

"That's my girl," her father said with a laugh.

Daisy stood up then. "Well, I hate to cut it short, but I'm still putting up posters in my room. Hopefully if I get enough done, maybe I'll invite everyone over here."

"Yeah?" Grace was surprised to hear that, not used to Daisy being so outgoing that she'd actually invite some friends over. "Tell you what, sweetie. Give me a few minutes and I'll come down and help, okay?"

"Alright, then! See you in a few!" Daisy hugged her mom one more time, kissed her dad on the cheek, and went back downstairs. Grace sighed looking over at Daniel.

"You're gonna buy her that book anyway, aren't you?"

Daniel shrugged, but he couldn't hide his little smile. "Maybe..."

Grace rolled her eyes and leaned over him to kiss him gently, letting her lips linger before she stood up and pulled away. "I love you, you know that?"

"How could I forget?"

Grace gave him a warm smile before walking to the kitchen and pouring some tea into a travel mug. "Start the next one without me, okay?" With that, she descended down the stairs to help her daughter with her spooky posters and candles and all the other weird stuff that made her happy.

In the meantime, Daniel retrieved his copy of _Dirty Dancing_ from the DVD player and popped in the next cheesy 80s film of choice.

* * *

"I can't believe you convinced me to invite her over here," Helga grumbled, sitting up on her bed playing Flappy Bat on her phone. "It's my last day off, I'll see her tomorrow anyway..."

Arnold rolled his eyes, sitting on a folding chair next to her bed. "She just misses you, Helga."

"Whatever. I just hope she gets here soon so we can get this over with..." Helga trailed off and bit her lip as she came close to beating her high score of 53 flaps before suddenly crashing into a tree. She yelled and held her phone up in the air like she was about to launch it across the room, but she stopped herself and slammed it down on the bed beside her.

"Having trouble?" Arnold asked with a smirk.

"Stupid bat... You ever notice how many games have bats in them!? Criminy..."

Arnold laughed and shook his head. "No, I don't think I've ever pa-AID-" Arnold's eyes shot wide open and quickly he coughed and tried to clear his throat, hoping Helga didn't notice.

She noticed. She was staring right at him, perfectly still, wondering if she just heard what she thought she did.

"I was saying, I d-ON'T-... I never noticed anyth-ING... Oh no..." Arnold held his hands over his mouth as he slowly turned his head toward her, watching in horror as a wide, devilish grin formed on her face.

"Oh...my...god..." Helga snickered, barely able to stifle her laughter.

Arnold shook his head, still keeping his hands over his mouth as if he could somehow hide his voice that way. "Please don't say anything, Hel-GA..."

That was it. Helga couldn't hold it any longer and tossed her head back and roared with laughter. Arnold sighed and shook his head, hiding his face in his arms. He mumbled something, but his voice was too muffled for Helga to understand him. "What did you say!?" she asked as she tried to hold it together long enough for him to respond.

Arnold lifted his head and squeaked in frustration, "I s-AID I can't be-LIE-ve this is happ-EN-ing!"

Helga's laughter returned with a vengeance, so much so that she fell to her side and rolled back and forth on her bed. She was in such hysterics that her cough returned to her, but she didn't care. Arnold growled and started forcing himself to cough as well, hoping that he could clear his throat and somehow keep his voice from cracking like that too much.

"Uh... Don't tell me Arnold's sick now, too..."

Arnold and Helga both looked over and saw a somewhat confused Daisy standing in the doorway, still holding her backpack. Olga stood behind her, of course, more worried than confused. "Are you alright, Baby Sister!? I thought your cough was going away!"

"I'm fine," Helga said as she sat up, catching her breath and letting out a long, deep sigh of contentment, still wearing that huge grin on her face. "Well, Arnold? Won't you say hello to Daisy?"

Arnold glared at her for a moment, but then looked over at Daisy, who walked into the room very slowly. He took a deep breath and hoped for the best. "Hi. I'm...not...sick...?"

Daisy raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Okay then..." She walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, setting her bag down on the floor beside her. Olga walked in after her and checked Helga's temperature with the back of her hand, immediately souring her once jovial mood.

"Do you need anything, Baby Sister? Some ginger ale? Or some tea? If you feel nauseous I'll bring the bucket right away, just let me know!"

"Yeah, yeah, I said I was fine. Criminy, just..." She sighed and rolled her eyes as she felt Arnold touch her arm, reminding her to try and be less harsh with her sister. After all, she was only trying to be helpful. "If I need anything, I will let you know. Just let me hang out with my friends, okay?"

"Alright, if you're sure!" Olga looked at Daisy then. "Nice meeting you, Daisy!"

Daisy smiled and gave a little nod. "Nice meeting you too, Olga. Don't worry, we'll keep an eye on her, make sure she's good to go for tomorrow."

Helga rolled her eyes. If there was anything that could threaten to make her start gagging again, that was it. "Oh, I can't wait."

Olga giggled. "I bet! You guys have fun!" With that she finally left them alone. Helga sighed with relief.

"Finally..." Looking over at Daisy, Helga's grin returned to her. "You missed something amazing, you know that? This one here," she said gesturing to Arnold with her thumb, "He was squeaking and squawking like he just got kicked in the-"

"I w-AS not!" Arnold said before groaning with frustration into one of Helga's pillows.

"Oh boy..." Daisy smiled too, chuckling a little herself. "Arnold, it's fine. Just don't fight it, it'll go away eventually."

Arnold crossed his arms, clearly not amused. "It's not funny..."

"Oh, yes it is," Helga said in a devilish tone.

Daisy sighed at that, leaning toward him and looking him in the eye. "Arnold, your voice is cracking. It sounds silly. No one can help that. But you know it happens to most boys your age anyway, so it's really not a big deal. Just let it out and have fun with it."

"She's right, you know." Helga nudged him in the shoulder. "Remember when Gerald went through it?"

"I had a feeling he did," Daisy added.

Arnold rolled his eyes. "That doesn't count, he had his t-ONS-ils removed."

"So he went through it a little early, big deal. You can't tell me that wasn't hysterical." Helga's eyes lit up with a little idea and she nudged his shoulder once more. "Hey! Sing Moonlight Bay with me!"

Arnold looked at her like she had actually turned into a monkey. "What!? No way!"

"You know Moonlight Bay?" Daisy asked curiously.

"Know it? We had to sing it for school! Poor Geraldo had his tonsils out right when we were rehearsing for it!" She took Arnold's hand then, squeezing it reassuringly. "C'mon, please!? Tell you what, I'll set you up and you do the end part, okay? I'm only doing this once, bucko, so do me proud!"

Arnold stared at her as he fought an internal war over this song, unable to commit to either refusing to sing the last line or giving in and becoming a laughingstock for Helga _and_ Daisy. And who knows who else they'd tell?

As Helga cleared her throat and began to sing, Daisy couldn't help but notice how clear and rich Helga's voice was, in spite of the simplistic nature of the song as well as the flu she'd just gotten over.

"We were sailing along, on Moonlight Bay! We could hear the voices singing, and they seemed to say...! You have stolen my heart, and gone away! As we sing our moonlit song on Moonlight Bay!" Helga pointed at Arnold, giving him his cue. Arnold sighed, shook his head, and gave in.

"O-on Moo-O-onli-I-ght Ba-Aa-yyy!"

"YES!" Helga punched the air and started laughing once more, looking at Arnold the whole time. "You KNOW that was funny!"

Arnold couldn't help but crack a smile as he replayed that sound in his head, and slowly but surely he finally started laughing along with her. Only his voice continued to crack, making his laughter sound even stranger than his singing. He couldn't help but think he must sound like an angry goose or something.

Daisy shook her head, laughing much more quietly than they were. "Oh, brother," she sighed as she crossed her arms. "You two, I swear..."

Helga couldn't remember the last time she laughed so hard, reaching up to wipe tears from her eyes. However, her cough returned once more, and this time she found it was a bit more difficult to stop. Arnold reached over to rub her back, and before too long she was able to clear her throat and catch her breath. She continued to smile anyway.

"Hoooo... Boy, I probably should have asked Olga for a drink when she offered." Helga swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, but Arnold jumped up and touched her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks.

"Wait, Helga. I'll go get it, okay?"

Helga rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, Arnold. I can do it."

"I know, but..." Arnold swallowed hard. "I think I'd like to...grab mys-ELF something too..."

Helga shrugged and sat back down on the bed next to Daisy. "Alright, then. Carry on, my sweet frog prince."

Arnold rolled his eyes and walked out, leaving Daisy and Helga alone. Daisy took a deep breath and looked around the room a bit, tapping her fingers on her knees. "Sooo... Not sure what you were so scared I'd see in here. Oh no, four walls, a floor, and a ceiling!"

Helga crossed her arms with a huff. She was glad that Daisy didn't bother to check her closet and find the shrine to her beloved, but she couldn't help but worry. "Scared? Hardly. I just...like my privacy is all..."

Daisy could tell from the way Helga looked away from her that something bothered her. But she knew by now not to push it either, simply reaching over to put her hand on Helga's back. Helga tensed up at that, not used to that kind of contact from anyone outside Arnold, or at least her sister.

"It's okay, Helga. Trust me, your room is way better than mine. I only just got my posters up last night. Plus a few candles. Most of my stuff is still in boxes, though."

"Don't even start with the candles," Helga snarled, reminded of the new hobby her mother had been indulging ever since Christmas. She turned toward Daisy slowly, still not meeting her gaze quite yet but no longer shunning her outright. "And, thanks... My, um... My old room was better. Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of my old stuff was lost for good.."

Daisy smiled sadly. "My old room was pretty great too, I thought..."

It was then Helga looked up into her eyes, only now considering what it must be like for Daisy having just moved to town. "Wow. I uh, I didn't realize you... I mean, I know you just moved here recently and all, but..."

"Yeah, it's pretty weird. I have more friends here than I did back home, though, so that's a plus. Right?"

"Wait... Me, Arnold, Gerald and Phoebe... You had less friends than that? I mean, not that I always had a ton of friends, but... I had Phoebe, and I got along with the other girls. Rhonda a little less. Patty, it took her almost beating me up for us to get along okay..."

"And you had Arnold."

Helga gulped. "Arnold hated my guts for a while. It was that or he'd never notice me..."

Daisy rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Yeah, I don't buy that for a second. You guys were best friends the whole time."

"You really think so...? How can you say that when you weren't even here?"

"I can't say how I know, but...I just know. Maybe you should ask Arnold about it." Daisy winked at her and gave her a warm smile.

Helga nodded slowly and swallowed hard. She didn't want to bring it up, but now that the two of them were alone, she figured this was as good a time as any to put it out in the open. "Speaking of which, um... You were right, by the way. I did think you were trying to come on to Arnold, take him away from me and all that..."

Daisy smirked. "I know you did. But I can tell you're coming around. Look..." She reached over and touched Helga's hand, which caught her a little off guard at first. Until she remembered Daisy's one of those touchy feely affectionate types in general. "I want to tell you, right now, while no one else can hear us, that you can trust me not to get between you two. I mean, what kind of idiot would I be to do that? I just moved here, and you guys are the nicest friends I've probably ever had."

"Really?" Helga tilted her head at that last part. "You count _me_ as one of your nicest friends?"

"Of course I do. But the point is, there's no way I'm trying to steal your man, okay? I would do anything for love, but I won't do that."

Helga smiled and let out a little sigh of relief, surprised how easy and quick that discussion turned out to be. "Thanks..." She then stared into Daisy's eyes for a moment and something dawned on her. "Bravo, by the way. For changing the subject."

"Huh...?"

"Classic diversion. You're talking to a professional, you know that? Now then... What do you mean, you have more friends now than you did back home? And how are we your nicest friends ever when you just moved here recently?"

Daisy paused and looked down at her feet, as if she hoped to find the words on the floor beneath them. "I, um... I didn't really have any friends..."

Helga paused, not sure what to say at first. "How come...?"

Daisy shrugged. "Kids thought I was weird. Got beat up a lot, had to change schools a few times. One kid slammed a locker door shut on my head, another shoved me down a stairwell. I'm actually lucky I wasn't seriously injured. I do have a tiny scar on my head but my hair hides it, so..."

Helga balled her hands into fists for a moment. P.S. 118 wasn't perfect, but it wasn't the kind of place where kids got seriously beat up all the time either. If anything she'd arguably dished out the worst beating herself just a few months ago, and she regretted it instantly. She could also tell Daisy wasn't the type who went out of her way to bother anyone. If anything it was the opposite. With her thin, unintimidating frame and her quiet, generally shy disposition outside the few friends she'd made so far, Helga couldn't imagine why anyone would want to beat her up bad enough to have her sent to another school, let alone more than once.

"Well... No one's beating you up on my watch. I'm the worst one and they all know it, so as long as you stick with me, you'll have no problems."

Daisy smiled softly and glanced back up at her. "Wow, um... Thank you, Helga..." As she looked back down to the floor, she saw her backpack in the corner of her eye and it was like a light came on, her smile brightening up immediately. "I almost forgot something!"

Helga blinked, not expecting such a fast shift in her mood. "Uh... What?" She watched as Daisy picked up her bag and set it on her lap. She noticed quite a few patches on it, from heavy metal band logos to weird occult symbols and other such oddities, and she couldn't help asking, "What do you keep in there anyway? Bones? Snakes? The Necro-blah-blah-con?"

Daisy laughed. "You mean the Necronomicon? Nah, I keep that stuff at home under the floor boards," she deadpanned as she pulled out a book of some sort, wrapped in a shopping bag. "I'm joking. Here... I didn't have time to wrap it in anything else, so I hope that's okay..."

Daisy handed it over and Helga took it curiously. "Wait, is this for me? Like a gift or something?"

Daisy nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! That's why I was late getting here. Wanted to get you a get well soon present, but... You basically got well already, so... I don't know, either way, it's yours," she said with a shrug. "Really hope you like it!"

"You didn't need to get me anything..." Helga said quietly, almost a little annoyed at first, but she trailed off as she unwrapped it and quickly realized it was a copy of _Within the Realm of Light_ , the sequel to her new favorite read. "You got me the new _Blood Realms_ book? How did you even get this!? I thought it came out next week!"

"Nope. They moved it up, like...a month ago." Daisy smiled widely as she watched Helga turn it over in her hands and take a peek at the opening pages. "I'm glad you dig it. Let me know how it is, okay?"

"You bet-... Wait, you're not going to read it too?"

Daisy shrugged. "I will when I get my own copy."

Helga stared at her for a moment, then looked down at the book in her hands. She could practically hear the old Helga in her head. _"Too bad, so sad! The moron wants to give it to you when she could keep it to herself! Can you believe that? Oh, man, what an idiot. If you play your cards right, old girl, who knows what else you can get her to buy you! Just pretend you're sick again and she'll bring you all kinds of cool junk!"_

But the other voice was stronger. "I can't take this, Daisy."

Daisy sighed. "Yes, you can. I'm sure you have a pretty good reason all cooked up why you have to give it back to me, but it's not going to work."

"But-"

"But nothing. I mean it, I really want you to have it."

Helga gave a subtle grimace at first, annoyed that Daisy wasn't giving her a minute to talk. But an idea came to her and her smile returned. "Tell you what, Freak... We said we'd read it together, so what's what we'll do."

Daisy's eyes widened a bit. "Really? I mean, I don't know if I could resist, honestly. I've seen the reviews, and it's darker, bloodier, spookier, and...well, more _fun_ too, if you catch my drift..." Daisy gave her a wicked smirk and nudged her with her elbow.

"Well criminy, don't take too long to get your hands on it!" Helga said with a playful smack against her arm. "Besides, I didn't even know it was out yet, so Phoebe and I can wait a little longer. No big dea-"

Daisy then practically lunged at her, cutting her off with a big, warm hug. "I know you don't like this mushy crap but you better learn to deal with it."

Helga couldn't help but laugh and awkwardly hug her back. "Long as you don't mind my flu germs..."

"What am I walking into?" Arnold said as he finally returned, ginger ale in hand, to find them hugging. As he walked into the room and Helga and Daisy parted, he noticed the book in Helga's hand and managed to piece together what must have happened. "Is that what I think it is?"

Helga nodded. "Hell yeah! And you better get ready, bucko, because you're reading both of them, and we're definitely cosplaying Max and Lucia."

Arnold rolled his eyes and sat down on the chair next to the bed, handing her the ginger ale. "I would have been back sooner, but... Your dad took me aside to help test a few, um... A few beepers." Arnold's face soured a little, recalling how much Bob laughed when he squeaked out the word "beepers", but it didn't last. To his surprise, Helga didn't even care. No frustration that he took so long, no dying of thirst, no criminy, no Football Head.

Instead, he saw his girlfriend excitedly talking about vampires and fake blood recipes and cosplay ideas with a new friend. He let out a deep sigh of relief, happy to know that after all the tension between them, Helga and Daisy were now truly bonding, and could even get along without him.

He was also happy they were too busy talking to each other for him to get a squeak in edgewise.

* * *

The stalker, hidden carefully in distant shadows, watched as Arnold and Daisy walked out of the Beeper Emporium, following them down the street and taking even more photos of the two. They were, of course, completely unaware that they were being watched...

"You didn't need to walk me home, Arnold."

"I know, but that was really cool what you did for Helga, and I just w-AN-ted to say-... Dang it. Thanks, is what I was getting at..."

Daisy laughed as the two of them walked down the street, her hands in her pockets. "I get it. Still, kind of weird. You walking another girl home. You sure Helga doesn't have to worry about _you_?"

Arnold blinked and shook his head, blushing with embarrassment. "What? No, noth-INg like tha-At. We're just friends, and He-ELga is my girlfriend..."

Daisy snickered and shook her head. "Relax, Arnold. Just teasing, that's all." Her smile faded, however, upon hearing the sound of barking in the distance. And it was getting closer. "Um...hm..."

"What is it?" Arnold asked, confused for a moment until he saw the dog appear in the distance from around a corner. It was a decent sized dog, not too large but no lap dog either. Surely it was a lab mix of some kind, mostly black with some white around the neck and chest, and probably the belly too.

As the dog approached, Daisy tensed up. She noticed the dog wasn't on a leash, and no owner was coming to retrieve it. Arnold thought the dog seemed friendly enough, but Daisy stepped behind him as the dog came closer and closer. "Arnold..."

"Poor little guy seems lost. I wonder who-"

"ARNOLD!" Daisy shrieked as the dog finally reached them and jumped up toward the. Daisy yelped and held her arms up over her face, curling up and turning away as if in a defense position. Arnold gasped, turning from her to the dog. It wasn't growling, or biting, or anything scary. As the lost little mutt tried licking Arnold's face, with its tail wagging away with joy, it was clear the dog was harmless.

And yet, Daisy reacted as though they'd just been pounced on by a lion. "Just make it go away! Please!" Arnold tried to shoo the dog away, but it was no use. The dog noticed her behind him and walked around to greet her as well.

As the dog stood up and leaned against her, Daisy screamed at the top of her lungs.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for the reviews, fellas! I love hearing from everyone. Unfortunately, I'm dropping another author's note because of another setback. About a week ago I injured my back and it really cut into my productivity. You won't have to wait TOO long for the next chapter, but it may not be released as quickly as the last few I'm afraid. Still, I won't let you down!**


	26. Old Scars

**Hearts of Gold**

26\. Old Scars

"I just want to say, I'm very sorry about what happened. I hope Arnold is alright, the poor dear..."

Stella shrugged and half smiled, sitting across from Grace at Bigal's Cafe. It was a quiet day. Stella enjoyed a nice cappuccino while Grace stared down sadly at a plain black coffee, no cream or sugar. "He's okay, mostly just worried about Daisy. And please, there's nothing to apologize for. Not you, and certainly not Daisy."

Grace smiled and looked up from her coffee into her eyes. "Thank you. That's very sweet of him. You must be proud to have such a nice boy."

"Every day," Stella said proudly before taking a sip of her coffee. "Daisy's pretty sweet too. That was so thoughtful of her to try and help Helga when she was sick the other day."

Grace beamed at that. "That's our Daisy. You know she's planning on inviting her new friends over some time soon." She laughed a little and shook her head. "Of course, we still have a lot of unpacking to do, but we're working on it."

"Oh? You know, Miles and I would be glad to help out. If you guys don't mind, that is. I'm sure Arnold would like to help too, actually."

"Really? That's so kind of you!" Grace said with a hand over her heart. "I would love that. I'll talk to Daniel and we'll let you know when the timing's right."

"Excellent. Can't wait," Stella said quietly, giving her a warm smile.

There was a long pause afterward, as Grace took a sip from her coffee and stared down into the mug. Her smile dimmed and her eyes stayed low when she eventually spoke again. "Daisy wasn't always afraid of dogs, you know..." She sighed a little as Stella listened closely. "When she was much younger, I took her with me for a walk to a little grocery store by our house, and an older gentleman came by with his dog."

"Was it not leashed?" Stella asked in a soft, warm tone.

Grace took off her glasses, setting them on the table before rubbing her temple as if the memory was physically painful for her. "It was, but the leash must have been old, or the damn collar wasn't on all the way. I don't know. I can't remember, honestly... All I know is, it got away from him and it just...pounced on her. Took her down to the ground, scratched her up a bit. Then she kicked at it, and the dog clamped its jaw on her leg. It was...not good. We were lucky it didn't break any bones, but it tore her up pretty badly..."

Stella gasped, holding her hand over her mouth. "Oh my god, that poor girl..."

Grace nodded and shrugged, smiling sadly. "She needed surgery, wound up with quite a few stitches..." She swallowed hard and rubbed her eyes then. "The thing is, the actual _physical_ scar is barely noticeable now. Not that she likes to show it. That was a whole other thing. We had problems with gym class, since she didn't want to wear shorts. She used to love swimming in the summer, now she's so self conscious she avoids it altogether. And she's basically scared of any dog that comes around her."

"Any dog at all?"

"Yep. The tiniest lap dog still scares her. The sleepiest, laziest old hound scares her. Big dogs? Forget about it. If we're watching TV in the other room and a dog barks on the show, sometimes she'll hear it and she'll check to make sure there's not a real dog in the house." Grace wipes her eyes a bit and takes another sip of coffee, holding the mug in both hands. "Thing is? I loved dogs when I was younger. And Daisy, she's got such a big heart, she cried when she found out the dog got put down. It's just... I hate knowing my baby is so scared like that. Not just of dogs, but of that little scar on her leg too."

Stella reached into her purse and pulled out a couple tissues, handing them over to her. "I'm so sorry. I wish there was something I could do."

"Thank you," Grace said quietly as she wiped her tears away and blew her nose. "You know what's really sad? She's actually scared to even tell anyone about this. When she finally went back to school, the other kids started barking at her. Can you believe that? Who the hell does that to a kid?"

Stella stared in shock. "That's... I can't even... Pardon my French but I would have laid down the fucking law at that school. Not just the kids either, I'm talking teachers, parents, the principal, the whole nine yards."

"Tell me about it. We tried, believe me, but they pulled that 'kids will be kids, she should learn to stand up for herself' nonsense, which they would have punished her for anyway. So we wound up having to change schools again. She always had problems with the other kids, but that place was the worst." Grace took another sip of her coffee before reaching over and touching Stella's hand. "I truly can't thank you enough for raising such a lovely young man as Arnold. These news friends are so good for her..."

Stella tried not to wince from the shot of pain in her heart as she said that. She didn't want to admit that she hadn't actually raised him, but she had to be honest. "Actually, um... Miles and I were gone for a very long time, and not by design. It's a little complicated. Maybe one day we'll tell you that story, but... We're here now, and I am very proud of my Arnold. I promise you, Arnold won't let anyone bully her." A smirk came to her then as a thought came to her. "And Helga? She _really_ won't let anyone bully her."

"Really?" Grace raised an eyebrow then, tilting her head. "She seems like a nice girl..."

"Oh, Helga has a reputation. She was top bully for a long time, apparently. Those days are behind her, but I still wouldn't cross her if I was in her class. With Helga in her corner, she'll have no problems. You can count on that."

"Are you sure...?" Grace gulped, sounding a little apprehensive.

Stella thought for a moment how to put this. She didn't want to share too much of Helga's personal business, but she had to reassure her somehow. "Helga is...a very sad, lonely girl deep down. She might even have a lot in common with Daisy. I know one thing, if Helga invited Daisy to come visit her with Arnold, that says a lot. She's extremely guarded, very selective when it comes to the people she gets close to. If she trusts Daisy that much, she's got nothing to worry about."

Grace relaxed then, letting out a sigh of relief. "You have no idea how happy that makes me. One less thing to worry about..."

It was then that Stella was able to put a few pieces together, get a clearer idea of just why they moved to Hillwood. She spoke in a very warm, comforting tone, "Daisy's going to be much happier here."

Grace smiled and nodded slowly. "That's all I ever wanted..."

* * *

Rhonda leaned up against her locker and sighed, staring at the photo she'd taken of the drawing with her phone. Occasionally she zoomed in to examine every line, every stroke, all the shadows and highlights. She'd done it many times since Christmas, and it always seemed she found something new.

The only thing she never found was a sign. A signature. An image within the image. She couldn't find any kind of clue who the artist was, and it was driving her crazy. At first she decided to wait, hoping her secret admirer would present himself to her and declare his undying love and adoration. But as the days went on, she grew impatient. She knew she'd have to find him on her own.

Shaking her head she closed out her gallery and opened a memo she'd written herself: a list of the names of every boy in her class. She looked over their names with narrow eyes, considering each and every boy in her mind before she decided to investigate them. A few times she rearranged them just to see if any kind of hidden pattern stood out to her, some kind of order she could rely on. Not satisfied with that, she decided to knock out some names right away.

Stinky was deleted from the list immediately. Frankly she wasn't sure why he was even on it. Their "relationship" had just ended and he was too angry at her to give her something so precious.

Eugene she felt comfortable in eliminating. He never seemed to show even the slightest interest in her, plus she had a feeling that girls may not be his thing anyway.

Arnold was an easy "no" as well. Sure, he used to jump from one crush to another, but considering the way he was with Helga, she suspected his wandering eye was closed. For now, anyway. After all, he has been spending a lot of time with the new girl too...

She deleted Gerald from her list right away. He was cute, of course, but Rhonda knew that he was also dating Phoebe. Heck, they'd been making eyes at each other and getting close for a long time even before they officially got together. She even remembered them holding hands at the Cheese Festival.

"Cheese Festival..." Rhonda whispered as her eyes widened. She glanced down at her list and a name jumped out at her: Harold.

Did he have any artistic skills to speak of? Rhonda had no idea, but she'd guess not. He was also dating Big Patty, wasn't he? Still, Rhonda's nasty scheming against Helga on Halloween was, on the surface, all about avenging Harold's beating. On top of that, there was the egg assignment. And of course, there was the secret they both kept, their ride together through the Tunnel of Love one day at the Cheese Festival.

Sure, he protested at the time, but she knew better. She'd caught him glancing at her with a funny look on his face. He was also older than her, and likely going through the kinds of weird hormonal changes that the other boys in her class are going through now.

She knew that if it was him, it couldn't have been a romantic gesture. If he doesn't hate her like everyone else, he probably considers her just a sort of friend at best. A friend who was feeling down and had no one to turn to. That's all. However, Rhonda didn't want it to be him. She just wanted to take him off her list as soon as possible, prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it wasn't him.

All she would have to do is get him alone, away from Sid and Patty...

* * *

"Hey," Helga said quietly as she sat down next to Daisy at their table, setting her bag lunch down without digging into it right away. Something Daisy normally would have noticed if not for her much gloomier mood. "I heard what happened."

Daisy, who had been keeping her head down on the table with her own lunch sitting untouched as well, lifted her head up to look at Helga with worry in her tired eyes. "Arnold told you...?"

"It's not his fault, I kind of beat it out of him." Helga shrugged, taking a deep breath. "How long have you been...you know...afraid of...pffff...?"

Daisy sighed and closed her eyes, laying her head back down against her arms. "A while..."

Helga nodded and started pulling out the contents of her lunch bag, once again at war with herself. Not knowing the whole story, she didn't really understand why someone would react that way to a dog. Sure, they can be annoying, but scary? Like that? The old Helga would have mocked her mercilessly, but she tried to fight those urges. "I, um... I never knew anyone who hated dogs like that..."

"I don't _hate_ dogs... They just...just..."

"It's okay," Helga said with a little nudge. "We don't have to talk about it." She took a bite of her sandwich and, when her mouth was a little less full, she added, "You know, I'm actually terrified of rats. And mice, I guess."

"Really?" Daisy couldn't help but lift her head up more at that. "But they're so small..."

Helga rolled her eyes. "Small enough to squeeze under doors. And they poop everywhere. And they carry disgusting diseases... You know the Black Death was all because of rats, right?"

"Actually it was the fleas the rats carried that spread it, but I guess I see what you mean."

Helga shivered. "One time we all got trapped on the subway. Me and Arnold of course, plus Gerald and Phoebe. And Harold. Felt like eternity down there in the dark. I could almost hear the rats scurrying around in the tunnels... For a minute there I actually thought I was going to die."

"Wow. Sounds pretty rough..."

"Well..." Helga shrugged. "I was just hysterical is all. Point is, rats freak me out."

Daisy smiled as she watched Helga casually dig into her lunch, letting the silence linger for a moment. "I get what you're doing, you know. And... Thank you..."

"Don't mention it," Helga said with a little smile. "Just hurry up and get your hands on the new _Realms_ book."

"About that..." Daisy said as she finally sat up straight. "My dad got it for me. I haven't started it yet, but yeah. It was there when I got home, after...you know..."

"After what?" Phoebe asked as she sat down with her tray, followed by Gerald and a very quiet Arnold.

"Nothing," Helga said much to Daisy's relief. "Now that Daisy has the book too, we can start our little... Can we not call it a book club? It sounds so... I don't know, it sounds like we're a bunch of weird old ladies or something."

"Sure," Daisy said with a little smirk. She then glanced over at Arnold. "Hey... You okay?"

Arnold nodded and gave her a thumbs up. Gerald rolled his eyes at that. All day long, Arnold has kept his words at a minimum, speaking in short, quick sentences. It wouldn't be so annoying if he was only talking like that while answering Mr. Frank's questions or having brief exchanges with the other kids, but Arnold wouldn't even do much talking with him. Gerald knew something was wrong with him, but the fact that Arnold wouldn't tell him was getting on his nerves.

"Oh yeah, my man Arnold's doing just fine. Aren't you?"

Arnold gulped. He crossed his fingers that this wouldn't be it. "Never better!" He said with a goofy grin. Helga could tell he was trying to hide his little voice cracking problem and rolled her eyes with a big smile.

"You're adorable, you know that?"

Arnold shrugged and got to eating, really taking his time with his food. Gerald stifled a scowl and simply stared down at his food as he picked at it, occasionally browsing around on his phone.

Just then, Rhonda appeared at their table. "Hi!"

Everyone there looked at her a little suspiciously. Except for Daisy, who was mostly confused and sort of shrunk away while Helga, who was clearly the most suspicious, spoke for everyone. "What are you doing here, Rhonda?"

"Oh, you know, just...checking on you, of course! Are you feeling better? I heard you were very sick," Rhonda said as she tried not to lay it on too thick.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Is that all?"

Rhonda swallowed hard. She should have known Helga wouldn't be so welcoming, all things considered. "Actually, I have a little question. You know that old lady whose cat Harold kidnapped? Does he still visit there on the weekends?"

"Mrs. Ryle? I think so," Arnold said without thinking. His eyes widened for a moment as he realized the risk he just took, but he was relieved that once again his voice had not cracked in front of anyone else.

"You'd be better off asking Sid, or Stinky," Helga chimed in. "They're his best friends, they'd know for sure."

Rhonda pondered for a moment, trying to figure out just which of Harold's friends would hate her the least. After Halloween left him "cursed" and more than a little embarrassed, Rhonda was sure Sid despised her. Meanwhile Stinky was probably still angry at her for using him and mistreating him when he was her fake boyfriend. Not to mention Stinky hadn't been spending much time with Harold lately, from what she gathered.

"Hellooo, Earth to Rhondaloid!"

Rhonda snapped out of it and looked at Helga. "Oh, sorry. Um... Thanks. Glad you're feeling better. I mean it... Anyway, see you guys later!" She tried to sound as cool and casual as she could, which frustrated her as it always came to her so effortlessly before, but at least she had an idea where to go next.

Daisy watched her walk away and then looked at everyone else. "Is there a reason everyone is so tense and weird around her?"

"I'll tell you about it later," Helga snarled. "Just trust me, she's not someone you want to trust very much. She's burned her bridges too many times, if you ask me."

"Yeah," Gerald said quietly. "Once you burn your bridges that many times, you just can't stay friends anymore. Nope, don't want to burn those bridges, no sir..."

Phoebe looked at Gerald a little puzzled, hoping he was okay but knowing better than to talk about it right now. As she looked around the table she was glad no one else really caught the implication. Helga got back to the idea of "not a book club" and Daisy joined in, bringing up the idea of a special meeting place on the weekends. Phoebe made sure to get a word in here and there, but all the while she kept an eye on Gerald, who stared down at his phone since Arnold was too busy trying to keep up with Helga.

She managed to pull her phone out and shoot him a text message, thankful that he had his volume down.

 _Phoebe:_ Are you okay?

 _Gerald:_ Yup

 _Phoebe:_ Okay. If something is bothering you, you can talk to me.

 _Gerald:_ I know

 _Phoebe:_ You're sure you are all right? I've noticed that when something is on your mind, you tend to keep your messages very short.

 _Gerald:_ I guess that makes two of us then

 _Gerald:_ Me and Arnold

 _Phoebe:_ Surely there must be a logical explanation.

 _Gerald:_ It's just that it seemed like things were gonna be good again and now he's not hanging out or even talking to me

 _Gerald:_ I thought we were past all this you know?

 _Phoebe:_ He hasn't done much talking with anyone today, including Helga.

 _Gerald:_ I bet he still calls her after school

 _Gerald:_ Or texts her

 _Phoebe:_ Perhaps you should ask him about it. You're still his best friend. Arnold is still Arnold and if something is bothering you, I'm certain he will listen to you and he will understand.

 _Gerald:_ Whatever you say babe

Phoebe let out a gentle sigh and put her phone away, looking over at him without even trying to follow the discussion anymore. She swallowed hard as she saw him narrow his eyes in thought, and she hoped that she got through to him. However, instead of turning to Arnold and talking to him like she'd hoped, Gerald pulled out his earbuds and started listening to music, tuning everyone out completely.

She reached over and gently rubbed his shoulder, and while he didn't budge or glance in her direction, she felt some of the tension leave him. Finding herself unable to talk any sense into Gerald, Phoebe knew she would have to go to someone else.

The irony wasn't lost on her as she realized she had to talk to Helga.

* * *

Gerald stared down at his dinner as he ate, preferring not to pierce the awkward silence that hung over the dining room with his voice. He was busy anyway, lost in thought about the day's events. While he was initially bitter toward Arnold, such feelings gave way to confusion. Phoebe was right, Arnold didn't just clam up around him. He gave everyone the almost silent treatment. But why? And why wouldn't Arnold talk to him about it, at the very least?

"You glad to be back in school, son?" His father asked casually enough, though his stare was sharper than any weapon in She-Ninja's arsenal.

"I guess," Gerald said with a shrug. "Boring as usual..."

Martin Johannsen nodded slowly. "I noticed you haven't been spending as much time with Arnold lately. You two been hard at work with your studies?"

Gerald swallowed a sigh before it could escape. "Something like that. He fell behind a little, so he's been catching up after school."

Martin shrugged, finally ending his stare. "Just as well, I suppose. I must say, Phoebe's been a great influence."

"I'm sure they're still friends, Martin," Gerald's mother interjected. "Arnold's a nice boy, he just hit a little speed bump is all. But I do agree about Phoebe, she's really wonderful."

Martin smirked bitterly as he kept eating. "At least we agree on something, Sharon..."

Gerald winced at that little remark, tensing up as he noticed his mother pause to process it. Hoping to prevent any major arguments from breaking out, Gerald decided to ask about something that had been on his mind lately. "Hey, so um... I got a question, if that's okay."

Both parents glanced at each other, then at him. "Sure. What's on your mind, honey?" his mother said curiously.

"Well, Jamie-O has been out on his own for a little while, and... His room is just sitting there, not being used, so..." He paused for a moment, trying to feel the atmosphere of the room before he kept going. "I was just wondering if, like... I could have his room now? Since he's gone and everything?"

It surprised him how quickly his father responded. "I don't see why not. I'll tell him to stop by and move the rest of his things out of there, then he can help you move in."

Sharon glared at her husband. "And just where is he going to put his things, Martin?"

"He has an apartment, Sharon. He's not paying us for storage, and a growing boy like Gerald could probably use a bigger room. Then Timberly can have his old room."

Gerald and Timberly looked at each other and sighed, eating their food as the two kept going. "What if he comes back, hm? The boy's only nineteen years old. What if he has to come back?"

"First of all, he's a _man_ now, and a _man_ needs to learn how to take care of himself. If he loses his apartment, it's his own fault."

Sharon gasped. "So what, we're supposed to kick him out on the street if he comes back?"

"Is that what I said?"

"That's basically what you're saying."

"Funny, I don't remember saying that."

Gerald was about ready to ditch his food and go to his room, whichever room that was. He knew it was tough to stop them once they got into this back-and-forth. Thankfully his sister was there to save the day. "Gerald's been helping me with my homework, Daddy! He's the best brother ever," she said in a tone almost sickeningly sweet.

Both parents stopped and looked at her, pausing to regain his composure. "That so?" Martin said with a tilt of his head, looking back and forth between them. "Well, that is awfully nice of him..."

"Indeed it is. I'm...very proud of you, honey." Sharon managed as much of a smile as she could, and as much as he wanted to snap back at her, Martin held his tongue.

"Alright, son... Your mother and I are going to have to table the room issue for now, but... We'll work something out, okay?"

Gerald nodded before looking at Timberly in disbelief. As she smiled up at him, he started to wonder if perhaps he'd been too hard on her. It seemed she was growing up faster than he realized. "Anything for my little sis." He held his fist out to her, which caught her by surprise. "Go ahead, pound it."

Timberly grinned and pounded his fist with hers. "You mean it, Gerald? Anything?"

"Sure," he said with a shrug. "You name it."

Timberly thought for a moment. "Can we hang out this weekend? Just you and me?"

Gerald had a feeling something like that was coming. He didn't want to sour the mood any further than it had been already, so he knew he had to agree. But he couldn't help but ask for one thing: "What about you, me, and Phoebe? You don't mind if she comes along, do you?"

As much as Timberly would prefer hanging out with her brother alone, she had to admit she did like Phoebe. Unlike most of Gerald's other friends, Phoebe seemed to like her too. "I guess not. Phoebe can come. But some day we should do something just the two of us."

"You got it, Sis." Gerald smiled and winked at her, and for the rest of dinner things were quiet. Even peaceful.

* * *

After dinner, Gerald took his evening shower, brushed his teeth, and went off to bed. Of course, he wasn't ready for sleep by a long shot. He had a decent conversation with Phoebe, thankful that the subject of his favorite part-time mime never came up. He was particularly happy to report that a potential dinner disaster had been avoided, and that if his parents could come to an agreement, he would probably be taking Jamie-O's old room.

He couldn't help but feel victorious about it, even though his parents hadn't decided yet. For years, Jamie-O kept taking his stuff and claiming it as his own, and now Gerald was about to get sweet, sweet vengeance. Not that it was particularly brilliant or anything, but he wanted to enjoy it so Phoebe let him have his fun.

After their chat, he decided to watch some _Pop Daddy_ on his phone. It was in the middle of a particularly tense episode that he got the text notification from Arnold.

 _Arnold:_ Hey man. You still awake? Usually you're watching Pop Daddy by now

 _Gerald:_ Yeah

 _Gerald:_ Fancy hearing from you again

 _Arnold:_ About that. I meant to talk sooner. I wanted to say I'm sorry about today.

 _Gerald:_ What about today

 _Arnold:_ You know what I mean. I was afraid to talk too much all day

 _Gerald:_ How come

 _Arnold:_ Something weird happened yesterday and it freaked me out. If I tell you what happened can you promise not to tell anyone about it?

 _Arnold:_ Hello? You still there?

 _Arnold:_ Gerald?

 _Gerald:_ Fine. Spill it.


	27. Honest and Open

**Hearts of Gold**

27\. Honest and Open

The weekend came, and Gerald was in a good mood. Not great, but good. For one thing, he was glad he finally understood why Arnold wasn't talking to him.

Arnold's explanation seemed fishy at first, but when he heard Arnold's voice crack and squeak, he couldn't help but laugh at the karma. The sweet, sweet karma. Still, he made a deal with Arnold that he wouldn't tell anyone else as long as Arnold agreed to come to him if he had any other problems that he needed help with. After all, they were best friends, and that's what best friends are for.

He was also glad that Timberly was so understanding when pushed their plans back a day so he could hang out with Arnold and the gang. Sure, Sunday was a school night, but he did offer her a trip to the candy store.

Still, the house held more tension that morning than it usually did. Usually the bitter sarcasm and the cold shoulders were saved for nightfall, as both his parents were either too busy getting ready for work, or already there. He didn't hear any shouting matches the previous evening, but his mother seemed to be carrying residual frustration from a recent argument. She was careful not to direct any of it at him, however, and was happy to drop him off near the arcade on her way to work at the grocery store.

As he walked inside, ready to join his friends, he realized he must have been a little early, since Arnold hadn't arrived yet. Nor had Phoebe, or even Daisy. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Gerald walked up to Helga with a little wave.

"Hey. Are we early?"

Helga blinked a little. Were they early? She hadn't expected to have to socialize with Gerald all alone, and wondered just how early they were. She pulled her phone out to check the time, then looked back up at him. "Nope. We're almost right on time. Guess they're running a little late."

"Of course," Gerald said as he rolled his eyes, now that he had an excuse to do so.

Helga glanced down at her phone to shoot Arnold a text, then put it away in her coat pocket. "Sooo..." She reached up and rubbed the back of her neck a bit, trying to think of something to talk about. Instead she thought of something they could do to avoid talking: "Want to play a game or something?"

"Um... Sure. What are you into anyway?" Gerald had to ask, as he never really thought about Helga playing videogames at all.

"Got anything violent? Real blood and guts stuff?"

"Well... There used to be a _Mortal Kombat_ cabinet in here, one of the older ones, but Wolfgang threw a fit one day and broke it."

Helga scowled at the memory of their old bully, and all the problems he caused over the years. She especially hated how he tormented Arnold. That was her job. "Is that what happened to it? I was wondering why they got rid of it."

"How about _House of the Dead_? You like zombies, right?"

"Eh... Those are boring. You up for a round or two of _Killer Instinct_ instead?" Helga suggested with a shrug.

Gerald brightened up at that. "Oh, you don't know what you're messing with, girl. You're on."

"Bring it, Tall Hair Boy."

Gerald was surprised by the mutual interest, of course, but all that really meant to him was that he didn't have to show her the ropes or play nice with her. Once they started the game, Gerald selected the same fighter he always used, Cinder, while Helga immediately selected Spinal, a skeletal pirate character with a sword and shield.

The first round started with a bang, as Helga got the first hit and unleashed a devastating combo attack right away. Gerald was impressed, but he managed to break her combo and return the favor before his health bar could go down completely. The two traded blows at lightning speed until, much to Gerald's surprise, Helga won the first round with a third of her health bar left.

"Gloves are coming off now," Gerald warned.

"I'm shaking in my boots," Helga snarled with a big smirk.

The second round came, and Gerald's health bar was full once more, leaving Helga at a disadvantage. Nonetheless, she continued to be a formidable opponent, using Spinal's teleportation abilities to dodge almost his every move. Gerald thought he'd gain the upper hand for good by using Cinder's invisibility move, but Helga was no novice. Despite his total invisibility, Gerald's fighter still cast a shadow on the ground below, and Helga cut loose with a master combo that nearly cut him down to a third of his own health bar.

The timer was getting low, and the fight was so close, but in the end Helga was victorious, defeating Gerald with an ultra combo that left his jaw hanging.

"HELL YEAH! I WIN!" Helga shouted, laughing and dancing around with glee. "In your face, Geraldo! I beat you!"

Gerald took a deep breath and responded with a little smile and a golf clap, even bowing his head. "Fair enough, Helga. You win. I thought about saying I _let you_ win, but there's no way that would have worked, would it?"

"Nope!" She spun around to tell Arnold and...he still hadn't arrived. "Okay, they should be here by now, right?" She pulled out her phone and noticed she'd gotten a text from him during the match.

"What's it say?" Gerald asked curiously.

Helga sighed, replied, and put her phone away. "Caudell street was closed off for some reason, so they had to take a longer route. They should be here soon..."

"Yeah? That's weird. My mom and I went by it on the way here. Didn't seem closed to me. Maybe there was another accident or something."

"Stupid weather... I hate this whole season. You hear we're supposed to be getting some big storm in a couple weeks?"

"Aw, man. That bites," Gerald said as it quickly dawned on him what that would mean. "I hope the weather guy screws up again and it's just a light dusting, or I'll be stuck in the most miserable place in the world..."

"Second most, but who's counting?" Helga grumbled. She looked over at Gerald then, and noticed the shift in his demeanor for the first time. She recalled how Phoebe once confided that he'd been lashing out at her due to stress at home, and while it seemed he thankfully learned his lesson on that without the assistance of Old Betsy and the Five Avengers, she knew that look when she saw it. It was a look she had worn many times herself. "Hey..."

"Hm...?"

"Just so you know, you're not the only one with a bunch of psycho losers at home."

"...Thanks. I feel so much better," Gerald sighed.

"Criminy, what is it with you? What I'm saying is, you should know you're not alone in that, and you can talk to me. If not, that's okay. I get it if you feel weird. I feel weird having this conversation _right now_ honestly, but... if not me, then I know someone you can talk to. Someone I've been talking to for years when I'm down."

Gerald raised an eyebrow at that. "Yeah? Who's that?"

"Phoebe."

Gerald nodded slowly, staring off toward the entrance now. "Phoebe..."

"Hey. I'm being serious, Bucko. She's worried about you, you know that?" Helga crossed her arms then. "So you can drop your stupid attitude, because that whole 'Arnold doesn't care about me' thing? Or whatever it is you think is going on? It's bull crap. Not to mention you have plenty of people who care about you. So suck it up and try to have fun today."

Gerald turned to stare at her, and Helga braced herself for an argument, but he quietly laughed and shook his head instead. "Dang. You didn't have to kick my butt _twice_ you know..."

"Oh yes I did." Helga smirked, relieved that she wouldn't have to resort to knocking sense into him in a more literal way.

"At least you know what you're doing," Gerald laughed a little louder.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Helga asked curiously.

"Nothing. Just, Arnold's never beat me at that game. He never sticks with a fighter long enough to learn all their combos and stuff."

"Oh, brother... What an imbecile," Helga sighed with an eye roll. "But he's _my_ imbecile..."

"Yeah..." Gerald replied quietly, trailing off as if there was more he wanted to say.

"Yeah? Yeah, what? Come on, spit it out already."

"You don't think he's been getting a little too close with new girl?"

Helga swallowed hard, trying to hide that such thoughts had ever crossed her mind. "Daisy? Psshh, nah, no way. She and I have been bonding a lot too, you know. So what, you gonna think I'm about to ditch Arnold now, sneak off with her or something?"

Gerald shrugged. "I guess you're right. I just know his love life can be a real roller coaster is all. In the fourth grade alone he had _how many_ crushes? You ought to know, since you were apparently stalking him all that time."

"Watch it, pal," Helga snapped.

Gerald held his hands up defensively. "Fair enough. I'll admit, you and him seem different from, like...him and Lila, for instance."

"Don't remind me," Helga groaned.

"Just saying," Gerald responded too ominously for comfort.

"Hey guys!"

It was then that Gerald and Helga both turned to see their friends walking toward them. Helga noticed right away that something was off about Daisy, though she tried to pretend otherwise. She seemed shaken up, and from the look in Arnold's eyes, Helga had a good idea what must have happened. She took a mental note to talk to Arnold about this dog phobia situation with him later.

For now, she greeted everyone with excitement, hiding her concern as she gave Daisy a quick hug. She could feel the tension in her shoulders, but it faded a bit in their brief embrace. Once everyone exchanged some small bills for quarters, the day really began.

To Gerald's surprise, Arnold challenged him to a match right away.

"So, how come you didn't answer any of my texts today?" Gerald asked as he already set about wiping the floor with Arnold.

"But... I did answer you," Arnold replied much to Gerald's surprise, enough to let him finally hit back.

"Hold up..." Gerald said as he let go of the joystick and reached for his phone. Except it wasn't in his pocket where he usually kept it. He started checking other pockets while Arnold glanced nervously at the timer.

"Um, Gerald..."

Gerald sighed. "Don't worry, I'll have plenty of time to knock you out... I guess I left my phone at home or something. Sorry, man..."

Arnold rolled his eyes. "You have to stop losi-ING your phone-...aw, maaaan..."

Gerald laughed and shook his head. "And you have to stop getting kicked in the nuggets. You didn't run into Wolfgang again, did you?"

"Shut up, Gerald," Arnold grumbled as he tried not to laugh too.

* * *

Rhonda paced up and down the sidewalk nervously, not only because of her decision to confront Harold but because she was dumb enough to pick this godforsaken place to do it. The old lady's house was old and creepy, and the street itself was one of the poorer areas of the city, so pretty much every building on the street was worn and weird and seemed like they were home to really shifty, untrustworthy types.

Also, it was cold. And there was snow everywhere. And she hated it.

She knew she should have had her father give her a ride. Then she could have stayed in the car, where it was nice and warm and safe, but she thought she knew better. She didn't want him to know about her disgustingly desperate mission, so she insisted on walking. Said the walk would be good for her.

How foolish, she thought.

Even more foolish was that she knew she didn't need to be there. She knew it couldn't possibly be Harold who had brightened her Christmas. She felt like an idiot for even humoring the idea. So why was she here, she wondered? Why was she still standing outside this creepy old house, in this creepy old part of town?

As such thoughts ran through her mind, the door finally opened and Harold appeared in the doorway, looking back and waving as he walked out. "BYE, CUPCAKE! SEE YOU NEXT WEEKEND!" When he turned and saw Rhonda, he did a double-take to make sure he wasn't seeing things. "Rhonda? What the heck are you doing out here!?"

Rhonda cleared her throat and put her hands behind her back, closing her eyes as she spoke in a typical haughty tone of voice. "Hello, Harold. I was hoping-"

"Hi, Rhonda."

Rhonda froze and her eyes shot open, seeing none other than Big Patty walk out behind him and close the door. "Big Patty!? I mean...Patty...? What... I thought..."

Harold's eyes looked nervously side to side as he was so clearly trying to come up with an excuse for being there. "I, uh... I didn't want to come here! Patty made me!"

"Harold..." It was really something how Patty could warn him just by saying his name a certain way. Harold gave up quickly.

"Okay, okay, I came to visit Cupcake... Why are _you_ here though?"

Rhonda gulped. "I um, I was wondering if... I had a question about...homework, and..."

"You had a question for Harold about homework?" Patty asked, crossing her arms. "Just tell us the truth, Rhonda."

"Okay!" Rhonda sighed and wiped her face, shaking her head as she cursed herself for this whole thing. "I wanted to talk to Harold about a drawing."

"A drawing...?" Harold and Patty said in unison.

Rhonda rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, a drawing! But not just any drawing, okay? It's... It's a drawing of me. I got it for Christmas, and I don't know who made it. I just... Whoever made it, I never got to thank them. It really helped me..."

"And you think...Harold drew it?" Patty said as she and Harold looked at each other.

"I... I don't know, not really, I just... I'm going down the list, and I'm trying to eliminate everyone who definitely didn't do it, and... I don't know, just, like... Even if it wasn't Harold, maybe he might know something, like... I don't know... I don't know..."

"Uh, Rhonda, I'm with Patty! I know you got some stupid crush on me or something, but you gotta let it go!" Harold barked in his usual obnoxious way. Patty put a hand on his shoulder, silently telling him to calm himself, before she took over for him.

"Are you sure that's why you're here? Do you _really_ think Harold knows anything about this?"

Rhonda gulped. She wanted to answer immediately that of course that was why she was here, but she hesitated, and she didn't know why.

Patty took a deep breath, letting it out slow. "Harold, go wait inside." He was confused at first, but upon realizing he had an excuse to play with Cupcake just a little longer, he went back in while Patty and Rhonda sat on the steps of Mrs. Ryle's stoop. "I think we both know why you're really here."

"And...why is that...?"

"Because you're too scared to talk to any of the other boys. Or anyone else for that matter. In a weird way, Harold is safe."

Rhonda scoffed, offended by the very premise of it. "That is absurd. There's no way that I, Rhonda Wellington Lloyd, am scared to talk to _anyone_."

"Really? Then why isn't Nadine helping you with this?"

It was then that she lost whatever facade of the old Rhonda she was able to keep up. "I...I don't..."

"Let's see. You probably think Stinky and Sid both hate you. Gerald's been all weird and moody lately. Arnold's with Helga, and even if he doesn't hate you, she might. That's what you think, anyway. And Iggy is too cool for you to risk being wrong about. You'd be embarrassed, wouldn't you?"

Rhonda groaned in frustration and pulled her knees up closer, hiding her face in them. "Can you please just get to the point? Because if you're just going to humiliate me, I'd rather go home..."

"The point is, you need to stop beating yourself up so much. You think everyone's going to hate you, or laugh at you, or think you're desperate or something. If you plan on just sneaking around, stalking all the boys in class to find out if one of them is Mr. Right, then yeah, it'll backfire and they'll probably be mad at you. So just...be open, and be honest. I promise you'll be fine."

Rhonda looked up and stared at her. "Where...I mean, no offense but, where did you learn to talk like that?"

Patty shrugged. "I saw a psychologist for a few weeks last year. The one who stops by the school every now and then. You should try talking to her. It sounds like you need someone."

Rhonda nodded slowly, looking down at the ground. "I guess you're right... So, open and honest. Just be open and honest, and everything will be okay...?"

"Yep. Promise."

Just then Harold walked out with a sour look on his face. "Cupcake's sleepy so can we go now?" Patty and Rhonda stood up and stepped back to the sidewalk. As Harold rejoined Patty, Rhonda kept going, looking back at her.

"Thanks, Patty."

Patty gave her a little wave and walked off with Harold and they went their separate ways. On the way home now, Rhonda started to quietly repeat Patty's words as if they were a new mantra.

"Just be honest, and open...honest, and open..."

* * *

Stella shivered as she got back in the car, turning the heat up and rubbing her hands together before adjusting the volume on the radio. As the gentle sound of a soft jazz number warmed her spirits, she pulled out her phone to shoot a text to Helga.

 _Stella:_ Hi Helga! Just dropped off some goodies by the back door! Sorry, meant to bring them earlier lol! Text me when you get them!

 _Helga:_ You don't have to keep doing that

 _Stella:_ Hush! You're my little girl too as far as I'm concerned so you better get used to it!

 _Helga:_ I got them. Thanks

 _Stella:_ You guys have fun today?

 _Helga:_ Yeah, feel bad about Daisy tho

 _Stella:_ What happened?

 _Helga:_ Not sure but I think there was another dog thing on the way to the arcade

 _Stella:_ Awwww that's so sad! I hope she's okay!

 _Helga:_ Arnold and I are gonna talk about helping her some time

 _Helga:_ I gotta go, Daisy and Phoebe and I are starting a video call

 _Stella:_ Okay! Have fun! Goodnight honey!

 _Helga:_ Nite!

Stella put her phone away and drove off, satisfied that Helga had at least found the food she'd brought. She took her time heading home, pondering whether or not she was being creepy. Was it creepy for her, an adult, to text an eleven-year-old girl like that? Let alone her son's girlfriend?

"Nah," she said out loud. She was just being a mom, she reassured herself.

She tapped her fingers against the steering wheel as she slowly made her way home, thankful that she didn't have too much traffic to deal with. It was after dinner, and the sky was a dark, dim blue. Snowflakes drifted down in as little a hurry as she was in, savoring the ride as much as she did.

As she finally arrived home, she waited a minute to enjoy the wintery dreamscape just a little longer before making her way inside. After hanging her coat, and taking her boots off, she noticed a familiar voice coming from the kitchen. On the way there she passed her goofball husband, passed out on the couch, and shook her head. She was sure she recognized that voice somewhere.

"Hi, Stella," said a weary Suzie Kokoshka, sitting at the kitchen table with a mostly empty fast food cup next to her. Phil sat there with her with half a sandwich on a paper plate in front of him.

"Suzie and Oskar are back from their trip," Phil said rather sourly.

"Hi, Suzie," she said warmly as she walked over and touched her shoulder. "You seem exhausted. Did you eat anything? I think there's leftovers from earlier..."

Suzie smiled and sighed. "Thank you, Stella. Don't worry about it, Oskar and I stopped at a Good Burger on the way home," she said with an eye roll. "And you'd be exhausted too after that sorry excuse of a holiday vacation."

"Oskar exhausts all of us," Phil chimed in even as he started to wonder how far the nearest Good Burger was from the boarding house.

"Sorry to hear that," said Stella as she fixed herself a warm mug of spiced cinnamon Chai. "I'm warming myself up with some tea. Would anyone else like some?" She figured of course that Phil wouldn't want any, but she was glad when Suzie shrugged and nodded. Stella sat down, handed her a cup, and the two sipped their tea quietly for a moment.

"It must have been nice to spend some time with your family, at least...?" Stella said with caution.

"It was, while it lasted. Thanksgiving was great, actually. Oskar was...tolerable. My sister was glad to see me, and my cousin Nancy came down too so that was fun. It's funny, little Oskar is less of a baby than big Oskar." She laughed sardonically and shook her head. "We were supposed to be back on time for Christmas, but being so close to the casinos, Oskar...made a mess of things with my family, and one thing led to another, and we couldn't afford to leave, but we couldn't stay without paying back what we owed them. We were just...stuck." She sipped her tea and looked up at Phil. "That's all we ever are though, right Grandpa? Just stuck. We're stuck in Nevada. We're stuck here, I'm stuck with him, you're stuck with us, it's all just..."

"We understand, Suzie," Phil said quietly. "Even if he is a scoundrel. And a pig. And a dirty thief..."

"Grandpa..." Stella said with a nudge.

"Sorry... Point is, you could afford the rent if it was just yourself, you know. I'd love to kick him out, but you're always welcome to stay. Long as you don't toss any of _our_ dishes."

Suzie half smiled at that. "I know. It's just hard... He doesn't have anyone else. The only bridges he hasn't burned are the kind with a hefty toll, if you catch my drift. If I toss him out now, he's got nothing, and no one, and nowhere to go. Knowing him he'll probably bother Arnold about it and try to stay in his room again."

"What!? Oh, trust me, that won't be happening under my watch," Stella said sternly. "You're sure he has nowhere to go? I mean, if you're really this unhappy, it can't be good for you to stay in that relationship."

Suzie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I can't just kick him out on the street. Not right now... If he can't find anywhere to stay, I don't want him freezing to death somewhere out there in the city. When spring comes, I'll...have that talk with him. But right now, I just... I can't..." She stood up from the table and looked at Phil. "I have the money for last month's rent, and this month's. I just... I'll pay it tomorrow, okay? I think I need to get some sleep. Goodnight, Grandpa. And goodnight, Stella. Thank you guys, really..."

Stella and Phil both opened their mouths to wish her a goodnight as well, but she took off for the stairs before either of them could. They then turned to each other and shrugged. Stella took a long sip of her tea and sighed, reaching up to rub her temples with her fingers.

"You want to know the sad thing?" Phil said quietly.

"Hm...?"

"That's not the first time she's said that. She'll leave him for good, kick him out when spring comes." He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "I wish I could toss that jackass out right now..."

"But then Suzie would go with him..."

"Yep..."

"Hey... Uh, what's everyone talking about?" Miles yawned as he shambled into the kitchen like a zombie. Stella looked up at him and smiled sadly as she looked up at that mess of blonde hair, those tired eyes of his.

"Nothing, honey. Let's go to bed, okay? I'll meet you up there in a minute."

He blinked and nodded, flashing an adorable grin. "Okeydoke," he mumbled as he shambled back out of the kitchen and slowly made his way up to their room. Stella finished her tea and took the mug to the sink, quickly washing it, drying it, and replacing it in the cupboard.

After a quick goodnight to Phil, she went upstairs to her room where Miles was waiting for her, once again fast asleep, this time on the bed at least. She rolled her eyes and lifted his legs to get the covers opened up, undressed, then crawled into bed beside him as she pulled the covers over them both.

She stared at his sleeping face and smiled, reaching up to stroke his cheek with her thumb. Despite the years he'd begun to wear on his face, he was the same Miles she fell in love with. He was a good man, a good husband, and a good father, and he always would be.

She wrapped an arm around him and snuggled close. She closed her eyes and waited for sleep to take her, only they opened again for just a moment when she felt his arm around her.

"I love you, Miles," she whispered as she fell into a deep, blissful sleep.

* * *

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm all vamped out for the night. I think I'm gonna head to bed now. And before I go, just... Thanks for being cool and all, with...everything..." Daisy said to Helga and Phoebe on video chat.

"Don't worry about it. We got your back, right Pheebs?" Helga replied.

"Of course! We understand completely," Phoebe said as she looked at Daisy through the screen of her phone. She sat up comfortably on her bed, still wearing her glasses but no longer wearing a small ponytail in her hair, letting it all hang down freely.

Daisy smiled bashfully, pushing her hair back over her ear. "Thanks again. Really means a lot, you know... Anyway, goodnight, all."

"Night!" Helga said with a little wave.

"Goodnight, Daisy!" Phoebe leaned back against the wall as Daisy left the video chat and the group call went down to two. "I'm really impressed, Helga."

"Yeah? With what?" Helga asked as she cracked the lid of a Yahoo and started guzzling it. Phoebe might have scolded her for indulging her snack cravings this late at night, if she hadn't known Helga would ignore it anyway.

"You've been so careful with Daisy, making sure she feels welcome. I always knew you had potential, but this just goes to show how much you've really grown."

"Huh... Really? Well, uh... Thanks, Pheebs. I don't know, it's just... She doesn't see me like everyone else, you know? Like..."

"She's getting to know you for the first time. She might know a little about the old Helga, but she's never seen any other Helga than _this_ one. Plus, you have more in common than you think."

"Psh, yeah. Okay. No offense, but she's a bit more kooky upstairs than I am, and that's saying something. You know she told Arnold and me we were like, twin souls or something. Like, she imagined we were dancers in a past life, and our names are written in the stars, blah blah blah, all that crap you see on _Ancient Aliens_ or whatever."

Phoebe laughed quietly and shrugged. "She has a unique way of seeing the world, but I feel the overall sentiment is very sweet. It just means she's rooting for you two, that's all. And so am I, by the way."

Helga rolled her eyes. "I guess. I mean, she's pretty weird and all, but I don't dislike her or anything. I think we'll be pretty good friends..." A big smirk formed on her face then. "We're the Unholy Three now, eh Pheebs? Heheheh..."

"...Sure thing, Helga."

Helga took a big gulp of Yahoo and smacked her lips before changing the subject. "So, I figured I'd let you know, I talked to Gerald earlier."

"Oh?" Phoebe tilted her head, not sure what to think at first. As much as she wanted to believe Helga was improving her general attitude, some small part of her still worried that she might have been too harsh on him. "What did you talk about...?"

"I just told him to cut Arnold a little slack, and I reminded him that Arnold did still care about him. And I, uh... I told him that when I had trouble with my family, I talked to you. And that he ought to do the same."

Phoebe smiled slowly and looked down for a moment, her worries washing away instantly. "Thank you, Helga... You know, I bet he'd be talking to me now if not for him losing his phone again."

Helga rolled her eyes. "Boys. Am I right?"

Phoebe giggled and nodded. "Right!" She said in agreement. "Speaking of which, how's Arnold?"

"You mean, ho-OW is A-AR-no-OLd?" Helga couldn't manage to say without cracking up herself, so to speak. She and Phoebe both burst into laughter at that, recalling poor Arnold's day of squeaks and cracks and all his frustration as he tried to get his words out without them. "I swear, that boy's well on his way toward the awkward teen years. Crazy to think about, huh Pheebs?"

Phoebe laughed and nodded. "Indeed! Of course, you'll beat him to it by a few months."

Helga stopped laughing. "Huh? Wait... Holy crap, you're right..." She wiped her face with her hand as it dawned on her that next year, she would turn thirteen years old. Officially a teenager.

"Are you okay, Helga?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just...didn't really think of it, I guess?"

"Don't worry, it won't really feel any different. You'll still be you, and I'll still be me, And Arnold-"

"Will squeak his way to his deep, handsome, charming grownup voice..." Helga said with wide eyes before swooning and falling back against her pillow. Typical Helga.

Phoebe rolled her eyes and was about to say something, but a notification popped up just then. "One second, Helga..." She minimized the app, putting the video chat in a smaller window in the corner, and checked her inbox.

The first thing she noticed was that the number was not only unfamiliar to her, but it was clear that based on a phony area code, whoever sent the message was hiding their real number. She narrowed her eyes as she opened the message. "You know who to show these to...?" She mumbled out loud, tilting her head. Immediately afterward, a series of photos began to appear.

Photos of Arnold and Daisy.


	28. Reputation

**Hearts of Gold**

28\. Reputation

Helga waited anxiously as she sat in a booth in the back of Slausen's, looking out the window as she waited for Phoebe to arrive. It was strange for her being back there. This was the booth where she'd often wait for Arnold to arrive, watching him from a distance, eager to eavesdrop on his conversations with Gerald or occasionally with his grandpa. Now that she had finally won Arnold's heart, however, she hadn't had any reason to sit in such seclusion. All it did was bring back old memories and the feelings that came with them. Feelings she'd rather forget.

She let out a sigh of relief as she saw her diminutive friend arrive outside, and she waved her over once she came in.

Phoebe sat down with a bit of a smile, but she knew it was a futile effort. She knew Helga would be able to tell something was on her mind. "Hello, Helga."

"Hey, Phoebe. So, um... What's up? That was pretty weird last night, you freaking out like that and everything. What gives?"

"I know..." Phoebe's eyes darted around in a way that was quite familiar to Helga. "Last night I received a message that was quite weird in and of itself."

"Well, hurry up and tell me! Was it a message from Gerald?"

"No, it was... I don't know who it was from," Phoebe said as she pulled out her phone. "The number that was displayed was clearly a decoy, likely generated by a privacy application to hide the real number. Whoever it was, all they said was that I would know who to show...well...these."

As Phoebe handed her phone over, Helga didn't know quite what to expect. She certainly didn't expect to see photos of Arnold and Daisy, walking around town together or talking in the hallways of their school. She tried not to pay too much attention to the way they looked into each other's eyes so much, especially when it looked like they were talking about something. To her surprise some of the photos were even taken right there at Slausen's, not far from where they were sitting. As she looked through the photos, she noticed a few were taken when they had their little encounter with the stray dog. At first she winced at the sight of Daisy so distraught, but she winced even harder at the sight of Arnold hugging her tight to comfort her. Why was he hugging her so tight?

She closed her eyes and set the phone down on the table in front of Phoebe. "Take it. I don't want to look at this crap anymore, at least right now..." She sighed and looked out the window for a moment as Phoebe lowered her head.

"We don't know why these photos were sent to us, Helga."

"You mean, we don't know why they were sent to _you_..." Helga's eyes widened a bit. "Why _were_ they sent to you? What's this about using you as a middleman anyway?"

"Exactly," Phoebe nodded in agreement. "I understand what the photos appear to imply, but something really doesn't add up. If they wanted you to see them, why not just send them to you?"

Helga clenched her fists together, even as their food was set on the table for them. It was rare that she didn't dive right in immediately, and Phoebe noticed. She knew Helga must be pretty angry.

"Whoever the hell sent those didn't want you to know who they were. That means the little creep's got something to hide, and I want to know why." She looked up into Phoebe's eyes, leaning toward her eagerly. "Can you try and bypass the fake number, find out who's behind it?"

"I'll try. In the meantime, we're going to want to be extra careful. For all we know they could be watching us too," Phoebe whispered as she glanced around the little diner.

Helga's eyes darted around as well, and she slowly picked up her burger and started eating, taking a huge bite though the look of suspicion never left her. "Ham you shimmy na honos?"

"Um...what?"

Helga rolled her eyes and swallowed, whispering, "I said, can you send me the photos?"

Phoebe nodded. "I condensed them all into one file for ease of access, and removed photos that seemed like duplicates, so there's less to go through. Still, you haven't seen everything, so I recommend looking through them all later. For now, we should start to consider who our primary suspects might be."

Helga didn't take long to think of one person: "Rhonda..."

Phoebe shrugged. "I certainly hope not. I'd like to think she's turned a corner, in light of recent events, but... We can't be sure just yet, either way. What if it's Sid? Or, I don't know..."

"What if it's Lila!?"

"...It's not Lila."

"Okay, fair enough, it's probably not Lila. So, who can we trust with this?"

Phoebe pondered for a moment. "We should keep things quiet, but I'd say we can trust Gerald for sure... Although, he's been so stressed as it is, I'm not sure it would be good for him to be constantly looking over his shoulder in addition to his family problems. I'll assess his mental and emotional state tomorrow and make a determination then. That leaves Arnold and Daisy."

Helga thought about the words as they left Phoebe's mouth. Arnold and Daisy. Arnold and Daisy. Hearing their names like that nearly made her shiver. "I don't think we should tell them."

"Why not?" Phoebe asked curiously, though she felt she had some idea already.

Helga's mind started racing. "Well... Daisy's pretty fragile, right? You think Gerald might take it bad, let me tell you, this would really mess her up _bad_. And Arnold, well...um..."

"Yes...?"

"...Okay, fine, I'll tell him. Just... Just let _me_ tell him, okay? It has to be from me. When I tell him, I will let you know. Got it?"

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Got it."

"Good." Satisfied, Helga took another bite of her sandwich, leaning back in the booth and turning to look out the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of whoever it was that was stalking them and their group. After a swig of Yahoo she kept staring until she found herself not really looking at anything. She stared into space as the photos she had seen ran through her mind.

Only now they weren't just photos anymore. They played like dreams now, moving pictures with sound and scent and even the cold of the winter air around her. As she watched them from the perspective of the stalker, her heart ached as she realized just how familiar that feeling was. How many times had she been in precisely the same place, she wondered briefly? Surely she'd followed Arnold and his crushes countless times, whether he was chasing Ruth, or Lila, or even Miss Felter. She tried to tell herself that she was just being paranoid, but what she saw in those photos was just too familiar.

"Hey, Phoebe... Do you think..."

"Yes, Helga?"

Still staring out the window, she sighed and continued, "Do you think that...that there's anything... You know, that Arnold...and..."

Phoebe got up from her side of the booth and sat next to Helga, putting her arm around her and hugging her from the side. "Hey... No more thoughts like that, okay? Arnold loves you."

Helga nodded and took a deep breath. "I know... It's just, those pictures... I've taken pictures like that before, and..."

"I know, Helga. But things are different now. Arnold's always been a compassionate person, and whoever sent these knew how they would look. They're messing with us."

Helga looked into Phoebe's eyes for a moment before returning her embrace. "You're right. You're right, Phoebe. Thanks..."

"You're welcome. Today, let's just hang out together. It'll be you and I and no one else, like the old days. Okay?"

A little smile formed on Helga's face as she nodded in agreement. "Okay. But tomorrow, at school, we got work to do."

* * *

Miles sighed as he turned the page in his book about the Minoan civilization and the evidence supporting the academic theory that the earliest of European civilizations was largely a matriarchal culture, for Oskar and Suzie had returned home and it had taken him several attempts to read the previous page before he could finally move on to the next one.

His father walked in and sat down in the arm chair next to him. "Aren't you glad they're back from our vacation?"

"Thrilled," Miles said dryly. "Thing is, I had just gotten used to their arguing when they left, and by the time they got back, I was finally used to _not_ hearing them argue."

"At least they're paying their fair share... Oh wait, that's right, they don't pay anything."

Miles looked up from his book, surprised to hear that. "Wait, they don't pay anything at all to stay here?"

Phil sighed. "Well, I suppose I shouldn't say _they_ don't pay anything. It's that no good scoundrel, Oskar! Why, he couldn't even keep a job as a paperboy! Not to mention the gambling. Apparently he ran into a little trouble down at the Casinos."

"Wow. That's...pretty bad..."

"Tell me about it! I guess they made it back, but that lazy son of a-"

"Settle down, Dad..."

"...gun...can't stop gambling it away with his buddies! That's what they're fighting about up there. Suzie had two months' rent when they got back, and now it's gone."

Miles set his bookmark in place and put the book down beside him, adjusting his position to lean toward his father a bit. "Dad, don't you think it's time to do something about them? It sounds like they've been a pain in the butt for a while."

Phil sighed. "I've thought about it, but I can't kick Suzie out too when it's not her fault. It's just that she won't leave Oskar. Somehow she feels bad for the little cretin, and as far as she knows he's got nowhere to go."

"But they're not just being a pain in our butts, Dad. I'm sure the other tenants have complained too. Frankly I'm surprised no one has left because of them."

Phil swallowed hard. "Actually, we did lose a couple tenants. There was the foreign broad, Lana, and Mr. Smith too I'm afraid... Oh, and Mr. Purdy, but that was because of all the chickens."

"See? They're costing you even more money besides what they owe you themselves. I think it's time you should sit down and have a talk with them, give them an ultimatum. Frankly, even if they somehow manage to start paying their rent on time, they need to stop arguing and disrupting the other tenants. Plus we've got Arnold to think about, and that's not a good environment for him to be around."

"It's not as easy as you think, Miles! I tried talking to Suzie, but she always puts it off! Not to mention this house has never been known for its sanity anyway. Right, Pookie!?"

"Du hast es verstanden, Kumpel!" she shouted from the kitchen.

As Phil scratched his head and tried to figure out when Gertie learned to speak German, Miles cleared his throat and continued. "I understand your concern about that, but their personal problems are costing you rent, and it's costing the tenants their happiness as long as they have to live here. I understand it's Oskar's fault, and I would rather Suzie kicked him out as much as you would. It's time he faced some real consequences, but as long as she's covering for him, then she might have to face some consequences too."

Phil was about to say something, but luckily for him the phone cut him off. He jumped up and walked over to that clunky old phone and answered quickly. "Sunset Arms... Why, hello Arnold!... Oh, nothing, just having a little chat...Oh yeah? Well, how about I save them the trouble and-... No no, they're too busy I'm afraid... Alright, see you in a minute!"

Miles raised an eyebrow as his father hung up and put on his coat. "Giving the kids a ride?"

"Yep! Not sure when I'll be home, you know how these kids are, spending their weekends out on the town, heheheh..."

Miles narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "Sure... Okay, Dad. I won't fight it. But we'll have to talk more about this later, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever. Bye!" Phil said as he made his escape. Miles shook his head and picked up his book once more, only to be interrupted again by a more comforting presence.

"Hey, honey." Stella leaned over the back of the couch and put her arms around him, kissing his cheek before resting her head against his shoulder. "I'm surprised you can tolerate that racket upstairs. You want to head out, get some fresh air?"

"Dad's got the car. He ran off to pick up Arnold I guess."

"But... Arnold's here, in his room...?"

"I know...which makes me wonder who that was on the phone, come to think of it," Miles grumbled. "I tried to talk to him about Oskar and Suzie but he's being really childish for some reason. I figured he'd agree with me, especially the way he seems to threaten Oskar every other day, but he's actually fighting me on it."

Stella rolled her eyes. "You have to admit, it is kind of unfair to kick Suzie out too. She is our friend, you know. We should try to help her."

"I'd like to, but I have to think of the other tenants too." Miles massaged his temples as he shook his head. "I just wish he and I didn't have to butt heads over this."

Picking up just how stressed he was, Stella rubbed his shoulders and kissed his cheek. "You know what? Let's go out anyway. Who needs a car? C'mon, we don't have to walk too far if you're not up to it. I just figure some fresh air will do you some good."

Miles sighed and put his book away once again. "I would but... I mean, don't you think it's a little cold out? It's still January, you know..."

Stella recalled the night before and nodded. "Point taken." She then sat down on the couch, glancing down at her lap and then up at him. "C'mon, bae. Lay your weary head and talk to me."

Miles rolled his eyes at yet another "bae" and shifted his position so he could lie back and lay his head against her legs. He smiled looking up at her, the light above looking like a halo around the angelic vision that was his Stella. "Hi..."

She chuckled and started running her fingers through his hair. "Hi, you dork... So, I know they're being really loud, and it's frustrating, but just take a deep breath and try to relax. Then we can talk all about it."

* * *

At school the next day, Helga sat alone at their usual lunch table, only today she had seated herself on the other side, giving her a view of the entire cafeteria. She made sure to get to her seat before anyone else so she could watch the rest of her classmates enter and sit at their usual tables, just in case anyone or anything in particular stood out to her. From this position she was also able to watch her friends as they came in.

Phoebe was the first to sit down. "Hello, Helga."

"Hey, Pheebs." Helga started eating her sandwich as she looked not at Phoebe, but at the rest of the cafeteria, like she was seeking some sign of being watched or recorded. "Where's Gerald, anyway?"

"He got out early for a doctor's appointment. I understand it's just a routine check-up."

"Yeah? He still coming back after?"

"It depends on whether or not his mom or dad picked him up. If it's his mom, I suspect he'll be allowed to stay home the rest of the day. If it's his dad on the other hand, I'm sure he'll be brought right back here."

"Hrm. Wonder what he'd rather do," Helga mumbled as she took another bite and washed it down with some iced tea. "I'd probably sneak off, hit the town, maybe see a movie."

"So um," Phoebe said quietly before leaning in and lowering her volume even more, "Have you looked through the rest of the photos yet?"

Helga paused for a moment. "Nope," she said sharply. She didn't want to admit it out loud, but she wanted to forget she'd seen any photos. She just wanted to know who was trying to mess with her. As she scanned the cafeteria, one individual stood out: Rhonda. She sat alone, looking from her phone to her fellow classmates. One might think they were watching for the same thing, but Helga was sure she knew better. She was sure that Rhonda was behind the whole thing.

"It's Rhonda," Helga snarled. "Just look at her. Doing a sweep of the whole room, just so it doesn't look like she's watching us. Hmph..."

Before Phoebe could respond, Arnold joined them at the table. "Huh? Who's watching us?" Arnold said as he set his tray down. Sure enough, he was the one thing that could take Helga's attention away from the object of her rage, just as surely as he could take her breath away.

"Watching us? Uh...Psh, nobody. What, are you getting all paranoid on me now, Football Head? Sheesh," she said with a huff, crossing her arms like the old Helga. It didn't take much for the facade to collapse however, as Phoebe cleared her throat and the two exchanged knowing glances. Helga sighed, "I'll tell you later, okay? There's...too many people around at the moment. I don't know who's going to hear us."

Arnold blinked at that. "Um... Okay, then." He reached over and touched her hand. "You sure you're okay?"

Helga looked into his eyes, feeling all tingly as he touched her, and felt the tension slowly leaving her. "Yeah, I am. Thank you, my love..."

"You're welcome," Arnold said with that warm, dreamy smile of his. He stroked her hand with his thumb and took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "So, I have an idea for this weekend, but I want to wait for Daisy to get here first."

Helga swallowed hard. "Why?"

"Well, it involves her too. And Gerald, if he wants to come," Arnold continued as he glanced over at Phoebe, who nodded with understanding.

Before Helga could ask more questions, she saw red in the corner of her eye and spun around to lock eyes with Rhonda, who by now had walked up to their table. "Hi..."

Helga scowled. "On with it, Lloyd."

Rhonda blinked. Helga didn't usually call her that. It wasn't an insult like "Rhondaloid" was, but it felt even colder somehow. "Actually, Helga, I came to talk to you. Do you think we could go somewhere private for a minute?"

Helga rolled her eyes. "I swear," she growled, trailing off before she could let loose a string of expletives and accusations. Feeling Arnold squeezing her hand, she narrowed her eyes and held her tongue. "Go wait for me in the girls' bathroom. We'll talk there."

Rhonda nodded and walked away without saying another word. Helga stifled another growl as Daisy walked by her, and the two exchanged awkward looks before Rhonda walked out and Daisy sat down at the table. "Did I miss something...?"

Helga looked at Arnold, ignoring Daisy completely. "Every time I get pulled away from here, it's some dumb scheme. And when it's Rhonda? It's _definitely_ bad news. Criminy, it's like a freaking cliché at this point! I'm telling you, she's up to no good. Just trust me on this."

"But Helga, are you really sure about this? I mean, why would she come to you? Of all people? She knows you're too smart for that, and I doubt she'd ask for you unless she had a reason," Arnold said in a reassuring tone, hoping he could keep her calm enough to be civil with Rhonda. He really couldn't blame her for how she felt, of course, but he'd come to regret some of the harsh words he'd said to the formerly popular girl.

"Yeah, a _crazy_ reason..."

"Just go easy on her, okay? You never know. Honestly, she might be going through something you can probably relate to. You don't like being judged like that, so just...give her a chance, that's all I'm saying."

Helga winced. As much as she would have loved to deny it, he had one heck of a good point. She was judging Rhonda for past mistakes, not current actions. That and she was desperate to put a name to this mystery stalker who's clearly trying to mess with her. If not Rhonda, then who? "Fine, Arnoldo. But I'm telling you, if I smell anything fishy..."

Arnold smiled as she stood up from her chair. "Okay. I'll wait for you to get back before talking about weekend plans. Sound good?" Daisy perked up at that, but didn't respond.

"Sure," Helga replied. "Don't worry. I won't be long."

* * *

"Spill it and make it quick. I haven't got all day, Princess," Helga said with a slam of the bathroom door. "And don't think I forgot the last time we had a little girl talk in the bathroom, so if you think for a second you can pull that crap on me again, you better think twice."

Rhonda let out a deep sigh. "Actually, Helga, I asked you to talk to me because I need your help."

Helga laughed. Usually it was Arnold that everyone turned to. For some reason Stinky asked for her help with Lila, only that was too dumb an idea anyway. Other than that, the few times Helga did try to help someone usually worked out badly for them. Which worked out badly for her. Still, that Rhonda would be so desperate that she'd turn to her, of all people, really amused her nonetheless. "My help? Really? I know it ain't fashion tips, unless you're blasting social media with another 'what not to wear' rant. In that case, I'm out of-"

"It's nothing like that, Helga," Rhonda interrupted. "I'm being serious, I wouldn't come to you unless I thought you had the most insight into this kind of...problem I have."

For a moment, Helga was caught off guard, but the moment didn't last and her suspicions only grew. "What kind of problem are we talking about, here...?"

Rhonda took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She was getting tired of telling this story, but there was no way around it. "Okay... So, it started when someone gave me this _crazy_ picture, right? Only they never left any indication who they were. So I've been trying to-"

"Bullshit!"

Rhonda jumped a little, not expecting that. "Helga...? What, why did...?"

Helga held her hand out and started to reach for her, as if to shove her back against hte wall, but she stopped herself and growled as her face turned red with boiling hot anger. "Some crazy stalker sent you a weird picture and you're trying to figure out who it is? What kind of idiot do you take me for!? You're sick, you know that!?"

"Helga, what are you talking about!?" Rhonda said as she backed up against the wall on her own.

"What the hell is your problem with me anyway!? You know, it's one thing to come after me, I'm used to it by now, but why get the new kid involved, huh? What did she ever do to you anyway!?"

"Helga, just tell me what you think I did! I don't even know what you're saying! You think I did something to Daisy!? I don't know what I'm supposed to have done this time..."

Helga paused, gnashing her teeth as she stepped forward and got in Rhonda's face. "Admit it... Admit that you sent those photos to Phoebe, just to try and make me jealous and start a fight between me and Arnold. You can't stand it that I have someone and you don't, and-"

"Get out of my face," Rhonda said with a stern confidence that Helga didn't count on.

"Excuse me?"

"I said, get out of my face. So I can reach my phone. I want to show you something..."

Helga glared into Rhonda's misty eyes, but Rhonda didn't budge, or look away, or even blink. So Helga stepped back, giving her a little more space, and Rhonda pulled out her phone. Only then did she break eye contact, and only briefly, as she pulled up the picture in question and showed it to Helga. "This is what I'm talking about, Helga."

Helga's eyes widened as she saw the drawing for the first time. As she looked over the details she couldn't help but wonder, who the heck was even capable of something like that? Was it an older kid? No, it couldn't be. One thing she did recognize was the dedication it must have taken to draw it. With all the shrines and scrapbooks and wish boards and collages and other such works that she'd made over the years as an outlet for her love for Arnold, she knew right away that this was the work of someone with serious feelings of some kind.

"I found it in my locker, just before Christmas break. It was a gift from...someone. It's not signed. There's no card or anything with a name on it. Just...this..." Rhonda choked up a bit as she trailed off, pulling out the note and handing it over to Helga as she put her phone away.

Helga unfolded the little slip of paper and quietly read it aloud. "Not worthless. Priceless..." She stared at that note as she recalled Stinky's confrontation with her in their classroom, in front of everyone. It definitely had to be someone in their class... A little whimper took Helga's attention away from the note, and she looked up to see what her wrath had wrought.

"Hey... Rhonda, I'm..."

"Save it," she snapped as she wiped her eyes. "I'm not stupid. I don't know what's going on with you and Arnold, or Daisy or whoever, but I get it..."

"Rhonda, I'm really... Ugh, I'm sorry. Okay? I'm freaking sorry. I just...this thing has got me so wound up and... Damn it!" Helga reached up and yanked on her pigtails in frustration. "Never mind. This isn't about me..." Helga's shoulders slumped forward and she turned around to lean back on the wall next to Rhonda, her head hung low. "What do you need from me?"

Rhonda let out a long sigh. "Do you have any idea who made it? Or at least who could have made it, maybe? I mean, you stalked Arnold for years without any of us knowing about it, so I figured you'd have better ideas than I do. I've wracked my brain and honestly I'm thinking it could be anyone at this point..."

Helga didn't have to think long. Her eyes widened and she lifted her head up, turning to Rhonda with a knowing gaze. "Anyone _else_ , you mean. It could be anyone _else_..."

Rhonda blinked. "Wha...?"

"Criminy... You're _sure_ you don't already know who gave it to you?"

"...Yes, Helga, I'm sure I have no idea who gave me that drawing. It's just, whoever made this really put their heart into it, and they made it just for me. I've never felt that special before, and I wish I knew, just...who would do that for me..."

Helga rolled her eyes. "Wow... Okay then. So, you want my advice or what?"

"I... Yeah, okay. Whatever you've got," Rhonda responded quietly.

"Put the ball in his court."

Rhonda's eyes widened. "So you're sure it's a boy...?"

"Oh yeah. And he likes you big time. And I mean, he _likes you_ likes you. I've been in his shoes before... Well, _kind of_ ," she cringed just thinking of that little freak. "So what you want to do is something he won't expect. You smoke him out, go public, open up and tell him you want to know who he is."

Rhonda paused, thinking long and hard about it. Could she really take a risk like that? What would it do to her reputation, she wondered? Would she appear desperate? Would she lose any credibility she had left and wind up a loser in the eyes of everyone she's ever known? "So... What you're saying is, I should basically tell _everyone_...and then he'll reveal himself?"

"Yep. I mean... Okay, he might not reveal himself right away, but with the ball in his court, he'll have to do something. Maybe he reveals himself, maybe not. Maybe you get another clue, I don't know. If he's as messed up as me, it might not be right away, but then Arnold never noticed me enough to turn it around, so..."

Rhonda nodded her head slowly and she let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Helga. Believe it or not, that really helps. Also, um... I understand why you freaked out. I mean, not _exactly_ , but... I just want you to know I really am trying to change. I don't want to be the Rhonda everyone thinks I am. Not anymore..."

Helga winced at just how familiar those words were. "Yeah, I... I'm really sorry, okay? I just... You were always so quick to judge me before, and I guess I'm being really paranoid right now, and... You know, I put on the ruthless bully act for so long, it became second nature for me, and I guess that really was me for a while, so I can't even say I was misjudged exactly...but I did hate being judged, and... I guess I misjudged you now, so... I'm sorry..."

Rhonda was surprised, still not used to getting that kind of depth from her. Helga never had such a real talk with her like that before. "It's okay. I honestly don't blame you... Think we can call this a truce?"

Helga gave her a sad smile and shrugged. "Sure."

Rhonda smiled too. "Maybe we can even be friends one day..."

"As long as I don't have to dress like you," Helga said with a nudge.

"Oh, as if you could ever pull this look off," Rhonda teased. She looked over at Helga and noticed that she was once again staring down at the tile floor beneath them. "Hey... What's the deal with you and Arnold anyway? I thought everything was cool with you two."

Helga kept staring at the floor as if she was searching for the right words down by her feet, and eventually the words she found were not what she expected. She wanted to ask Rhonda about the scheme against her, about her own stalker problems and the photos and the plot to interfere with her relationship. But the question she asked came from somewhere deeper inside. "Do you think Arnold would ever go out with other girls, behind my back? Like, I guess cheat on me?"

Rhonda's face turned red. "I mean..."

Helga instantly realized the implication in her choice of words. "Oh, no, not like"

"Yeah, because"

"We never"

"I didn't think"

"Nothing like that"

"Yeah, too young"

"We're way too young"

"Exactly."

"Exactly..." Helga's face went crimson, and once again she pulled at her pigtails, this time not out of frustration, but embarrassment. "I just mean...you know, would he ever...like...you know..."

Rhonda shook her head as she looked at the girl she's known for so long, yet only now was she beginning to understand. She realized then and there just how precious Arnold must really be to her. How long has she felt this way? Rhonda wondered if she was to blame for Helga keeping that side of herself a secret for so long, or at least partly to blame. "You think he might be seeing Daisy?"

Helga opened her mouth to speak, screaming internally that the real cause for concern was the stalker, that she had nothing to worry about, that it was all just a scheme and she needed to tell Rhonda about the photos. But no words came out. Her silence said everything.

"...No, I don't think he would do that."

Helga's head snapped up. "Really?"

"Of course not. He's Arnold, remember?"

Helga swallowed hard as the realization dawned on her. He _was_ Arnold. He was _the_ Arnold. She knew more than anyone how pure of heart he really was. "Thanks, Rhonda. That...actually helps a lot..."

"I'm glad I could help. Feels kind of nice... Anyway, let's head back to lunch." Rhonda started for the bathroom door, but turned around when she noticed Helga wasn't walking out with her. "Coming?"

"Yeah, just... I need a couple minutes alone first..."

"Okay. Later, Helga..." Rhonda knew better than to intrude, so she shrugged and walked out, going back to her table with a new sense of purpose.

Helga opened the door to the nearest stall, stepping inside and closing the door behind her. Once she was sure the seat was clean she sat down, pulled her legs up to her chest, and held them close. She rested her head against her knees, hiding her face as she cursed herself for ever doubting her beloved. Her soul mate. Her guardian angel.

* * *

"Sooo are you going to tell us your big idea, Arnold?" Daisy asked curiously. "Gotta admit, I'm excited."

"Well, I can't tell you yet. I actually wanted to surprise you, but now I'm just waiting for Helga to get back so I can let the cat out of the bag." He pulled out his phone, ready to text her, and then jumped as he felt a presence next to him. Before he knew it, she had her arms around him, hugging him tight in front of everyone. "Uh... Hi, Helga! I was just wondering where-"

"I love you," she softly whispered in his ear. He gulped and put his arms around her to hug her back, bewildered when she finally pulled away and sat down beside him to work on her lunch like nothing happened.

Arnold leaned forward in his chair to try and look into her eyes. He noticed they were a little red, which put a little knot in his chest. He took her hand in his and asked, "Are you okay?"

She nodded and glanced over at him. "Yeah. I just... I really misjudged someone, that's all... But I'm good now...Oh, and Arnold?"

"Yeah?" He asked as he tilted that football-shaped head of his out of curiosity.

Helga swallowed hard and did her best to look into his eyes. "Later, after school, there's something we need to talk about... Okay?"

"Um... Sure. Whatever you need," Arnold said as he rubbed her shoulder, sensing that something was wrong but knowing not to push her right now.

With that, Helga took a deep breath to try and shake the blues off of her. She could tell the others were staring at her, and she was not in the mood for their questions. Or worse, their pity. "So, what were you talking about earlier?"

Arnold managed a smile and changed the subject. "Okay. So, I talked with my parents, and it turns out they've been talking with Daisy's parents about us going over to help them finish unpacking. Sooo..." He looked over at Daisy. "If your room isn't finished, how would you feel about us coming over to help? Maybe this weekend?"

Daisy gasped and covered her mouth, her eyes lighting up as she looked around the table. "You guys would do that for me!?"

Arnold grinned and nodded. "Sure we would! You're one of us now, right Helga?"

Helga turned to look into his eyes. For a moment she slowly turned away to glance over at Daisy, and then continued staring back at him. She then took a deep breath, smiled, and swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Yeah, Daisy. You're...one of us..."

* * *

The classroom filled up quickly. Peapod Kid tapped his fingers on his desk with boredom. Eugene was holding an ice pack against his elbow. Harold was scarfing down another candy bar. Lorenzo was busy taking rigorous notes in his notebook even though class hadn't even started yet. Iggy was leaning back in his chair, lost in his phone. Robert was just kind of there, not really noticed by anybody.

Phoebe made sure that all the necessary texts and notebooks were prepared on her desk ahead of time, then glanced down at her phone. She had told Gerald to at least text her and let her know if he wouldn't be coming back to class, but he hadn't done that. Surely his mom was keeping him home by now, but she had a bad feeling something wasn't right.

Helga stared at her beloved, still kicking herself for ever doubting him. However, deep down inside she knew that doubt wasn't completely gone, and so her guilt remained as well.

Daisy took advantage of her last couple minutes of free time to quickly text her mom, hoping to convince her to make things official by getting in touch with Arnold's parents.

Arnold watched the door, knowing Mr. Frank would be coming any minute. He turned briefly toward Helga only to catch her staring at him, though she quickly turned her head away and tried to hide it. What was up with her today, he wondered?

Mr. Frank came in and went through his usual after lunch routine of actually finishing his lunch at his desk in the classroom, pretending to look through important papers, and thinking about invisible clouds of gamma radiation drifting undetected through space, and how at any moment such a gamma cloud could pass over the planet and instantly destroy the atmosphere and smother all life on Earth in seconds.

"Afternoon, class..." He grumbled as he got up from his desk and started writing on the chalkboard. "Hope no one is allergic to chalk dust," he sighed, already wishing the day was over. His routine was interrupted, however, by the sound of quiet gasps and chatter amongst the other students. Before he had time to turn around, there was a tap on his shoulder. "Um... Yes, Miss Lloyd?"

Rhonda cleared her throat to respond, "If it's okay with you, may I address the class for a minute? It won't be long, I promise."

Mr. Frank blinked at her and shrugged. "I guess so." He turned back to writing on the board, mumbling under his breath that she could take as long as she wanted, since he still gets paid either way.

Rhonda turned to her classmates. "Hi. So, I'm just going to...cut to the chase and get this over with: just before Christmas break, someone in here left a drawing in my locker. A really beautiful drawing. Of me, I mean. And a note, too. A really nice, thoughtful note... Anyway, I've been pretty down lately, and that really meant a lot to me. You guys have no idea... Unfortunately, neither the note nor the drawing were signed, meaning I have no idea who left them. Since I'm pretty sure it was one of you guys, I just wanted to say, I know you're in here, and I want you to tell me who you are. Don't worry, it's not for gossip or anything like that... I just want to thank you, and tell you in person how much it means to me that you care about me." Rhonda then turned to Mr. Frank again. "That's it," she said quietly before turning back to her bewildered classmates.

As she quietly made her way back to her desk, Curly tried to conceal his trembling, his knuckles practically turning white as he held a freshly sharpened Wanky Land pencil tightly in his grasp.


	29. Kindred Spirits

**Hearts of Gold**

29\. Kindred Spirits

Nadine was glad the day was over. Not that she'd had a particularly bad day, of course, but she couldn't wait for winter to be over so she could enjoy the spring weather. As she opened her locker to put her books away for the day, she was greeted by images she'd gotten from magazines, or printed at the computer lab, all taped up along the inside of her locker door.

She smiled as she looked over the photos of Jerusalem crickets, painted lichen moths, jewel beetles, mourning cloak butterflies, branded garden spiders, and many other things that creep and crawl their way through the natural world. Creatures that must be loved by Mother Nature more than any other, for they were the most beautiful and the most ferocious, and they outnumbered the rest of humanity by a considerable margin. It always frustrated her that they were usually seen as pests, when more often than not it was people who intruded on their territory.

"HIYA, NADINE!"

Nadine gasped and spun around quickly, instinctively tossing a butterfly net over Curly's head. Even when she realized it was just him, his wide, manic grin still unnerved her. "Curly!? What the... What do you want?" She asked as she pulled the net off of him and shoved it back into her locker.

Curly twirled an imaginary mustache and glanced upward, his movements so exaggerated he resembled a villain from a silent film serial. "What do I want? What do I want!?... Just a moment of your time, for I am a man in desperate need of your counsel."

Nadine sighed and rolled her eyes as she put on her winter coat and her gloves. "Let me guess. It's about Rhonda, isn't it?"

Curly's eyes darted from side to side. "Whatever do you mean, oh queen of spiders?"

That was a new nickname, she thought. She wasn't sure if she liked it. Regardless she crossed her arms and stood her ground. "I mean, that thing she said in class. You're the one who gave her that drawing."

Curly sighed and turned away from her dramatically. "Alas, you have found me out. Indeed, 'twas I who so carefully crafted that angelic portrait, I who lifted dear Rhonda's spirit from utter despair and humiliation, I who-"

"I get it, Curly," Nadine sighed. "That was really nice of you, and...actually still kind of weird. I mean, it just doesn't seem like your usual approach, that's all. What made you decide to do that, anyway?"

Curly looked back at her, and this time the unpredictable bespectacled freak merely shrugged in response. "I just...wanted her to be happy again..."

Nadine raised an eyebrow as she watched Curly flip a switch somewhere inside himself, instantly changing from some insane, rambling lunatic with a dramatic flair that Shakespeare would have found excessive to a surprisingly shy, even quiet boy capable of more compassion than she'd ever really given him credit for. This side of him was quite unfamiliar to her, and at first she wasn't sure how to react. "That's...great, Curly. I want her to be happy too. So, what do you need my help with?"

Curly bit his lip and winced. "Wellllll... I didn't sign it because if she knew it was me, she'd just freak out and hate it and then its true purpose would not be served, would it? Again, I wanted her to be happy, and if she's super ticked off at me, that doesn't happen, does it? Only now, what a twist! She actually wants to thank the artist in person!"

"Uh-huh..." Nadine nodded along as she listened, trying to follow where this was all going.

The Curly she was familiar with started to make a grand comeback, all while other kids walked by with as much bewilderment as Nadine had. "At last, I have a truly golden opportunity! Don't you see!? This is my moment! This is when I, Curly Gammelthorpe, the greatest lover in all the land, shall win her affection once and for all!...Except..."

"Except you freak her out, Curly," Nadine cut in. "Do you realize how much grief you've given her? Chasing her around, surprising her with hugs and even kisses? Just getting all up in her space without her permission? That's not cool, Curly."

Curly gulped, and once again the switch had been flipped, only this time it was Nadine who sparked it. "I was getting to that..."

Nadine sighed. On one hand she almost felt bad for him, but those feelings faded easily as she recalled how disgusted and even upset Rhonda had been sometimes in the wake of Curly's relentless pursuit. "I mean... It's true, Curly. She told me how you blackmailed her once, just so you could have some weird fake relationship with her."

Curly nodded. "Which...is why I need you to say you did it."

"...Wha?"

Curly smacked his head with disbelief. "I need you to say you gave her the drawing! Take all the credit, say it was you the whole time! You're her best friend, just tell her you wanted to cheer her up or something!"

Nadine swallowed hard and shuffled her feet. "That...might be an issue. We haven't exactly been talking lately..." She entertained the idea for just a moment, but remembered that the last time they spoke, they weren't on the best of terms. Still, from what she'd seen, Rhonda was making more of an effort to change than she ever had before.

But could Curly be capable of such efforts as well? Nadine just wasn't sure.

"Well then, it seems I've given you the perfect excuse to rebuild your bridges and make peace. Once again, Curly saves the day!" Curly tried to laugh it off, but the cracks in the facade were showing, and Nadine didn't let up.

"Why would you want me to take the credit, Curly? You said it yourself, this is your opportunity. Why aren't you taking it? Clearly you've never had a problem being forward with her before."

What Curly said took her by surprise, though it wasn't just the words on their own. It was how he said it: calmly, and quietly, like it was a simple truth that needed no embellishment, Curly responded, "Because she's my girl, and it's better for her this way."

Nadine had never seen Curly like this before, and wondered if anyone else ever has. She had to admit, she never really paid him much attention when he wasn't screaming at the top of his lungs or enacting some elaborate revenge scheme over the most trivial of offenses.

"Well? Will you do it? You'll do it, right? Please? Just say yes. It's easy! YES. See? It's not so bad! Just say yes. Just say yes! Please. Just say yes, Nadine. Please... Please!" Curly said as he grew more and more frantic, even going so far as grabbing Nadine's shoulders and trying to shake an answer out of her.

In no mood to be Curly's talking magic 8 ball, Nadine swatted his hands away. "I'll think about it. Just do me a favor and try not to go any crazier than usual. No, actually, don't go crazy at all. For Rhonda's sake." Nadine signed as she closed her locker and picked up her bag. "I'll let you know if I decide. Okay?"

"Affirmative!" Curly said with a salute, which got an eye roll out of Nadine.

"Bye, Curly. See you tomorrow I guess..." She turned to walk down the hall away from him, but paused to take one look back only to find him gone. It was like he'd vanished into thin air. She shook her head as she recalled something Helga used to say about him a lot. "He really is a twisted little freak..."

* * *

Helga stared at the glass jar in her hand like it contained a baby alien, or a cursed monkey's paw, or something of that nature. Not that it smelled that terrible necessarily, but as the candle flame flickered inside with every exhale, she was pretty dang sure it did not smell like Belgian waffles.

"Don't you just love it, Helga?" Miriam said as she walked up beside her, a little more spring in her step than usual. "It smells just like the real thing, doesn't it?"

"...Sure, Miriam. In fact, maybe I should eat this candle for breakfast. You know, since we never have any _real_ waffles around here," Helga snarled as she set the "waffle-scented" candle down on the counter where she found it. In fact, Helga noticed she was finding new candles around the Emporium all the time lately. So far she found "Beach Walk" and "Catching Rays" on the coffee table, "Crisp Fall Night" on the break room table where they ate, and to her horror she discovered "Color Me Happy" on the bathroom sink. Every room she walked into brought at least one new candle, and although she was happy to see her mom spending money on something healthier than booze, it still seemed pretty pointless. On top of that, it was starting to get annoying.

"What's that about waffles?" Bob said as he walked into the room with an eager grin on his face.

Helga rolled her eyes as she grabbed a stupid granola bar and a Diet Yahoo. "Don't get too excited, Dad. Just another candle."

"Another candle? For Chrissakes..." Bob took a mental note to buy some groceries some time soon. Or rather, to have Miriam buy some groceries. It was then he did something he didn't usually do: he actually looked right at Helga, staring for a moment with narrow, judgmental eyes. Helga did not care for that one bit.

"What's the matter, Bob? You just remembered I exist?"

"Is that the only dress you have? And what's with the pigtails? Aren't you, what, thirteen now?"

Helga blinked and tilted her head to one side, taken aback by that. He always found ways to criticize her, but this was new. "First of all, I'm eleven, but thanks for rounding up for a change. Second of all, it's not the only dress I have. I just...don't like most of my other clothes. Third-"

"What about that darker pink one, with the pointy collar and the white stripes at the bottom?" Bob interrupted.

Helga gagged. "I haven't even seen that hideous thing in _years_. If I knew where it was packed I'd take it out and burn it. _Third_ of all, there's nothing wrong with my pigtails."

Miriam then bent over somewhat, looking down at her as she touched her shoulder. "That's right, honey. You'll always be our sweet, innocent baby girl. Isn't that right, dear?"

That time, Helga and Bob both gagged together. "She's twelve years old, Miriam!"

"Again, I am eleven. _E-lev-en._ Sound it out."

"She has to grow up some time! One day she'll turn eighteen and be out of our hair! She can't go around dressed like a freaking _rugrat_ all her life!"

Helga winced. What did that mean, she wondered? Eighteen and out of their hair? Would they really kick her out like that? Memories from November began to drift back into her mind, and quickly she pushed them away. "Gee, thanks a lot, _Dad_."

"You're welcome," the ogre replied as he crossed his arms. It was then he seemed to remember something, his eyes lighting up as he shifted gears. "Anyway, you better tell your little friends you'll be busy after school today. We got some work to do."

Helga's eyes widened after taking a bite of stale cinnamon-flavored granola. "What? Why? Do you seriously think someone's going to buy this old crap?"

Bob grinned and puffed out his chest with macho pride. "I don't just think, I know! I guess some losers from the city are making an independent movie and they need a bunch of this _old crap_ for props. That means you and me are going through all our stock and finding out what works and what doesn't."

"Independent movie? Let me guess, yet another boring Oscar-bait coming of age drama wrapped in a 90s nostalgia trip?"

"Beats me," Bob said with a shrug.

"Oh, that's wonderful, Bee!" Miriam enthused as she embraced him from the side.

"You're darn right it is, Miriam! But don't think you'll be going gaga for more candles. This money's for food and for bills. And maybe some new clothes for Helga, if we can afford it. Just because we got Olga bringing in some bacon doesn't mean we're out of the woods."

Helga swallowed hard with the realization that she wouldn't be able to hang out with Arnold or Phoebe, something she needed to be able to do with everything going on. Instead she'd be stuck with her idiot father working on beepers and old phones and walkmans and other junk until dinner. "But Dad, I have, like...major stuff going on right now! I don't have time to spend going through all that garbage!"

"Hey!" Bob snapped in a way he hadn't done in a little while, "That garbage is going to make things a little easier around here for all of us! Now you make sure you get your ass right back here after school, little lady, or you'll regret it!"

Helga would normally have called his bluff, but after the fiasco with her room and her locket, she knew she couldn't risk it. At the very least she could try to get away with texting them, but that still meant that she wouldn't be able to keep an eye open for the stalker. Or for Arnold and Daisy.

"Fine."

With a huff, Helga stormed out of the break room, grabbed her bag, and left for school. She wasn't looking forward to spending the afternoon with Bob, but more importantly, she hoped that all she'd miss was a regular, boring old day, and that nothing weird would happen with the stalker.

Or with Arnold.

* * *

As everyone filed into the classroom, Arnold noticed several of his peers talking in hushed tones, their eyes wide with curiosity. For all he knew, Iggy decided to wear his bunny pajamas to school. Helga came in and sat in her seat beside him, and as Arnold looked to her for any kind of clarification, she just shrugged.

"Who knows what the latest gossip is. You know how it goes. Maybe Rhonda found her new Prince Charming."

"I wish," Rhonda said as she walked in at that very moment, taking her seat not far from them.

Arnold scratched his head and looked around until he felt someone tapping him on his shoulder. He turned and, to his surprise, it was Sid. He was surprised Sid was willing to talk to him again after everything that went down, though if anything he had more of a right to be angry at Sid. Still, Arnold wasn't one to hold a grudge for too long. At the very least, he hoped his paranoid friend with the Beatle boots learned his lesson not to mess with Helga. "Uh... Hey, Sid. What's up...?"

"Have you seen the new girl!?" Sid asked with excitement.

For a moment Arnold was a little disappointed that the other kids were still apparently referring to her as "the new girl", but more immediately he was curious what about her could have caused such gossip. "Daisy? No, not yet. What about her?"

"Her hair is-... Look!" Sid pointed to the open door, and Arnold saw what the buzz was all about. In walked Daisy, and she didn't look quite the same. Her hair had been cut somewhat shorter, but more noticeable was its color. Where was once dark, almost bluish black, her hair was now accented with bright, emerald green highlights. She smiled shyly and kept her eyes down as she walked toward her desk, pausing on the way to say hi to Arnold and Helga. Even as she sat down, it didn't stop the other kids from whispering about her.

"Wow... It's a little strange, but kind of cool too."

"Is green hair a new trend, Rhonda?"

"Eh. It's not _my_ thing, but it's a thing."

Soon, Mr. Frank arrived, and the quiet gossip finally died down. "Good morning, class. Today's going to be a-..." He blinked as he noticed all the boys stealing glances at the girl with the green in her hair. He continued in his usual dull monotone, "...Going to be a totally, like, radical day, ya dig? So grab your pizz-encils and I can't do this, I can't do this, grab your pencils and start taking notes."

Arnold tried to focus, but he couldn't help but wonder about Daisy's hair. Why would she dye it like that? It looked kind of neat, but wasn't that something older kids did? Or anime characters? Either way he was fascinated.

And Helga noticed. It did not please her.

* * *

Helga sat down at the lunch table with a huff, slamming the items of her lunch bag down with extreme bitterness, grumbling as she bypassed the healthier grapes and the nuts and went straight for the cheese balls. "Gotta grow up, Helga. Can't spend your life looking like a rugrat, Helga. Maybe you should paint your head, Helga. And your face. And your clothes. Just paint a whole other person. Criminy..." It wasn't long before she was joined by Gerald, who quite noticeably slammed his tray down with an all too familiar look on his face.

She watched him curiously as he started eating his soggy grilled cheese sandwich like he hadn't eaten in days. Has he been eating like that for some time, she wondered? She never really paid much attention to how everyone else was eating, of course, but still. She recalled the tough time he'd been having with his parents lately, how he'd been grumpy ever since he was kept home from school after his routine check-up at the doctor's office the other day, something his dad probably wasn't happy about. Frankly she was reminded of herself, and quickly she understood that she had found a kindred spirit in him, and in a way she hadn't expected. Not that this is the kind of kindred spirit she wanted.

"Hey," Helga said quietly.

Gerald barely glanced over at her. "Hey..."

"Parents suck."

With that, Gerald did a double-take. Was Helga G. Pataki empathizing with him? He wasn't sure how to feel about that. "Yeah. I guess they do. Sometimes."

Helga gave him a hearty punch in the shoulder and took a swig of Yahoo. "That's the spirit. Now quit your moping."

Gerald gave her a sardonic smirk and nodded before returning to his food. "Thanks." As he worked on his sandwich he thought back to any time he'd encountered her parents. He really only ever noticed her father, of course, but Big Bob always struck him as a brute and a bully and not much else, and he'd been that way as long as he could remember. Gerald never gave it much thought, but now that he was going through a tough time with his own parents, he realized Helga actually had a good reason to be so grouchy as often as she was. Growing up with parents like hers couldn't have been easy.

"Does it get better?"

Helga didn't hesitate to answer. "No. But it gets easier."

"How?" he wondered aloud.

"Because you keep going. You just have to. The crap doesn't stop coming, Geraldo, and if you stand still, it'll bury you." Helga then tossed a few cheese balls into her mouth like what she'd just said was no big deal.

But it was a big deal, Gerald thought. Would his parents ever stop fighting? He didn't understand why it was such a big deal to his dad that his mom let him stay home. He already felt like it was his fault, like he should have insisted on going back to school just to be safe. Would he always feel so guilty? Was this even his fault? Would it really never stop, like she said? Wow would he even be able to keep going when he felt so buried to begin with?

And when would his best friend even notice something was wrong?

As he stared down at his food, someone sat down beside him, and with a gentle touch against his hand, he was given a helpful reminder that he wasn't as alone as he felt. "Hello, Gerald!" Phoebe said cheerfully before dropping to a whisper, "Are you all right?"

Gerald gave her a sad smile and shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I am now," he said quietly.

"Good. We can talk about it later, if you feel like it." She gave his hand a gentle squeeze before carefully digging into her lunch, as always very precise even with cheap plastic utensils. After swallowing a bite of her salad, she turned to Helga. "By the way, Helga, I have a plan for...that...thing we walked about."

"What thing?" Gerald asked curiously.

Before he could get an answer, Arnold and Daisy reached the table at nearly the same time, causing Helga to blurt out, "A book thing!"

"...A book thing...?" Gerald wasn't quite convinced. Arnold and Daisy gave each other a puzzled look as they slowly sat down, not sure what they were arriving to.

"Y-yeah, a book thing. You know, our book club. I mean, it's not a book club, that's lame, it's...ugh, fine, it's a book club, but it's not stupid and it's just for us girls! So... Yeah! Heheh..."

Gerald's eyes narrowed, but he nodded slowly and decided not to push the subject.

"Hey guys," Arnold said after swallowing a plastic spoonful of tapioca pudding. He wasn't sure what that exchange was all about, so he decided to just avoid it altogether. "So, um... What's up with everybody? We still on for Saturday at Daisy's house?"

Gerald sighed. "I doubt it."

"How come?" Arnold asked innocently before he felt Helga's foot jab into his leg under the table. He winced as much from the realization as he did from the kick. "Actually, never mind. Sorry, man. I get it..."

"It's okay," Gerald said as nonchalantly as he could, quietly seething as he took an enormous bite of grilled cheese.

Phoebe looked at Gerald and then at Arnold. As much as she wanted to commit to their plans, she wasn't sure she could leave Gerald all alone like that. And yet she knew Helga was vulnerable as well. "I, um..."

"Don't you go missing out just for me, babe," Gerald said as though he'd read her mind, giving her a smile as warm and understanding as he could. "I'll be fine. Besides, you know you can text me."

Phoebe smiled back at him and nodded. "Very well then. I'll make sure to keep you company in spirit, at the very least."

It was then that Arnold turned to Helga, who was leaning against the table with one hand and tapping her fingers with the other. "Sooo, no one's going to address the big green elephant in the room?" She nodded toward Daisy as a bit of a wicked smirk grew on her face. "What's with the new 'do? Looking for more attention?"

Daisy blinked at that, oblivious to the implication there. "No, I'm still...kind of... _shy_ , but I just wanted to try something cool and different. I talked with my parents about it, and we reached a compromise. I wanted green hair, they talked me into a balayage. I wanted to shave the sides, they talked me into making it a little shorter."

"A reasonable compromise," Phoebe added.

"Exactly! My parents are great about that sort of thing. Oh, and I almost forgot! Helga, you won't believe who did my hair!"

Helga raised an eyebrow. "Lady Gaga?"

Daisy laughed, "Nope! Your sister, Olga!"

At that, Helga bristled. Of all the salons, and of all the people who worked there, it had to be Olga. Dear, sweet, fashionable Olga, who of course was not only allowed to stay under their parents' roof but was in fact the only one holding it up right now. "Oh good, you got Olga to do your hair. I was wondering when she'd get a new _little sister_."

"Nahhh, you'll always be her little sister! It was just nice to see someone I already knew, that's all. My parents and I got some great advice from her when it came to taking care of our hair. She's really smart, you know. Plus she actually gave us a bit of a deal! So it worked out really well."

"I'm sure it did," Helga said without snarling. No easy task.

"Yep! And it's all thanks to you, Helga." Daisy reached over and touched her arm. "I'm really glad we're friends. I never really had friends like you guys before, to be honest."

Helga tensed up at first, but she saw the sincerity in Daisy's eyes and her tension faded with a sigh. "Yeah, you're not so bad. I'm...glad we're friends, too..."

"Well, I think it looks pretty cool! It's...interesting. It almost makes you look a little older," Arnold said cheerfully. "Right, Helga?"

"Right, Arnold." She was doing all in her power to hold her tongue.

"It sure is funky," Gerald chimed in as he did his best to seem interested.

Daisy grinned, beaming, and if they weren't trying to down their lunches she would have hugged them all. "I can't wait for you guys to come over! Honestly I'd invite you all today if I could..." An idea came to her then. Her parents were cool, understanding people. Surely they wouldn't mind a little visit? Even if they couldn't stay too late, at the very least she could welcome them to the place where she felt truly safe, where she was able to express herself free from watchful, judgmental eyes. "How about you guys come over today, after school!? Just a little visit! Wouldn't that be fun? Then Gerald can come too! Right? Maybe...?"

Gerald sighed. All week long his dad had been taking him on long, boring rides after school. It would be fine if they went somewhere fun, or at least grabbed something to eat on the way home, but his dad wouldn't spend the money. Besides, he was too busy with his lame grown-up talk for Gerald to get much of a word in anyway. Still, if he could find a way to get out of it just once, it would be worth it. "I'll see what I can do."

Phoebe frowned a bit and adjusted her glasses. "I'm afraid I have ninjutsu training after school. Thankfully my Saturday schedule is clear."

Gerald couldn't help but smirk with pride at his own little She-Ninja. Meanwhile Arnold recalled that he'd been neglecting his own martial arts training with his grandma lately, but he took a mental note to start up again soon. Now that his entire body wasn't sore and aching anymore.

Before he could answer, Daisy interrupted, "How about you, Helga?"

"Me?" Helga laughed sardonically. "Forget it. My idiot father's already claimed my time for this afternoon. I'll be stuck with old beepers and brick phones all day. If it wasn't for that? I'd probably stop by, for what it's worth." Helga looked up from her lunch to see Daisy turn her attention to the only one left at their table: Arnold. Would Arnold dare go to her house by himself? And what if the stalker caught them? Although, what would there be for the stalker to catch? Arnold's not like that. She was sure of it. Arnold loved her, even with her pink dress and her pigtails and her bow. She had his heart to prove it. Surely with everyone else being tied up, Arnold would just wait for Saturday, right?

What Helga didn't know was that an idea came to Arnold as he realized the opportunity he had. Ever since Daisy first broke down at the sight of that stray dog, he'd been waiting for a good opportunity to try and help her with her fear. It had been some time since he got to pull an Arnold and help someone, and unless his friends wouldn't mind tagging along with him, now was the best chance he'd get. "I'm free all day, actually! I think we can find something to do. I'm getting some ideas already."

Helga sank back in her chair, deflated like an old party balloon, and sighed. "I can't wait to hear all about it later..." Phoebe gave her a worried look and decided to pull out her phone, discretely of course, and send her a message.

 _Phoebe:_ I'm positive that you have nothing to worry about, Helga.

 _Phoebe:_ You may want to consider adjusting your notification volume. I know how much you value privacy and discretion.

 _Helga:_ Is my hair ok

 _Phoebe:_ Huh? Your hair is fine, Helga.

 _Helga:_ What about my dress?

 _Phoebe:_ Your dress is fine too. Are you feeling self conscious because of Daisy?

 _Helga:_ Sheesh way to get to the point. I feel weird is all

 _Helga:_ My parents think I dress like a baby an dnow Daisy shows up and I findout Olga made her look all cool and she looks older now and blah blah blah it's all just gross and I hate it

 _Helga:_ Hellooo?

 _Phoebe:_ You really need to try and feel more comfortable with yourself. You used to not care about any of these things. I understand how you feel, of course. We're at an age where peer pressure is a big deal for us. I know you hated that stupid makeover party Rhonda had back in fourth grade, but what if you and I had one? Just the two of us?

 _Helga:_ Are u serious? It sounds weird

 _Phoebe:_ Just think about it. One day, we can go shopping and see if there's any other clothes WE would like, and if you really want to do something else with your hair, we can do that too. We can do our own makeovers the way WE want to. BUT for now, just keep one thing in mind: Arnold loves you the way you are. And you should too. Okay?

 _Helga:_ Thanks...

 _Helga:_ So whats the plan

 _Phoebe:_ The plan?

 _Helga:_ Criminyt he plan too catch the stalker

 _Phoebe:_ Oh! Right. I created a private photo gallery with all the photos online, but all you need to view it is the url. I paired that url with a program that, when the link is clicked on, identifies the IP address and provides the REAL phone number. It's usually used for catching romance scammers and that sort of thing, but it'll work well for us too.

 _Helga:_ Ok repeat that in english please

 _Phoebe:_ Next time the stalker texts me, I send a link. When the stalker clicks that link, we find out who they are.

Helga looked up from her phone, and Phoebe gave her a rare mischievous smile. Seeing her like that gave Helga a little more hope. Would it really be that easy? Phoebe did know her technology, so if she says it's that easy, it must be true. Whether she had any reason to worry about Arnold or not, at the very least she knew that all of this would finally be over soon. She only hoped that when the dust settled, her relationship with Arnold would be intact.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you guys so much for being patient with me. I've been through a lot of emotional ups and downs the past couple weeks, and it's been a bit of a struggle. But it's not going to stop me. This won't be one of those stories that wastes away unfinished. With this chapter finally finished, I feel like I might finally be ready to get that fire burning again. So to speak...**

 **I love hearing from you guys, so please let me know what you think! I always appreciate your feedback and support!**


	30. Everything's Fine

**Hearts of Gold**

30\. Everything's Fine

Gerald hoped against hope that when he walked out those doors, he would not see his dad's car, and he would be free to ride the bus home like the other kids. Truth be told he couldn't wait for the weather to warm up so he could just walk home instead, and enjoy the nice spring weather. Of course from mid to late spring, he'd be too anxious for summer to arrive and liberate him from school altogether. All the same, so long as there was still snow on the ground and a biting chill in the air, Gerald was better able to appreciate the eventual coming of the following season.

"Wait for me!" Timberly shouted just as he stepped outside. He sighed and held the door open for her. "Is Daddy picking us up again today?"

"I sure hope not," Gerald grumbled.

Timberly wasn't sure what to say to that. On one hand, she could hardly blame him. She remembered all the arguing about Gerald's day off after his appointment, and having to go riding around with them just to hear their dad talk on and on about responsibility this and growing up that and we'll get through this, don't you kids worry, everything will be okay. All the usual stuff that was being said to them these days. She wondered if he really believed all that, or if it was just a lie. On the other hand, she didn't like that she was feeling that way. She didn't like that he and Gerald kept making grumpy little remarks at each other during those talks, or that there was so much tension to begin with.

She just wanted things to be the way they were, and she just knew Gerald felt the same. She knew he'd do anything to make their family stronger, just like she would.

As Gerald and his sister walked down the steps, their heads bowed in thought, they were careful to avoid Eugene, who by then had already fallen on the ice and was now sitting in a crumpled mess on the ground. "Hey, Eugene."

"Hey, Gerald," the red-headed boy said all too casually.

"See you tomorrow, buddy."

"See ya!" Eugene replied before attempting to stand up, sliding around awkwardly like a young Bambi when he couldn't figure out how to stand and move around on the ice.

Gerald rolled his eyes at the silly display, and as he looked up he finally saw it: a blue muscle car from the seventies with white racing stripes, one that's clearly had some work done on it. His eyes widened, and he gently shook Timberly's shoulder. "Uh, Timberly... Look. Our ride's here..."

"Greeeat," Timberly sighed as if to echo Gerald's thoughts.

Gerald waited a moment for the typical follow-up, and tilted his head to one side when it didn't come. "You're not calling shotgun this time?"

"Nah, I'd rather sit in the back with y-"

"Will you two hurry up!? Gas ain't cheap!" shouted Jamie-O from his window. They both rolled their eyes and started walking again, dodging around other kids and making their way to his car. Gerald reached for the passenger door handle, only to find it locked. "Back seat."

"For real?"

"Yes, for real. Now stop crying and get in. Dork..." Gerald grumbled as he got in the back with Timberly, and as soon as they were both seated and both their doors were shut, Jamie-O took off. "Seatbelts," he said with a glance in the rearview mirror. Gerald was ready to point out that he should have waited for them to buckle up _before_ taking off like a bat out of hell, not to mention the ice and the snow on the roads. Or the fact that they were in a school zone. But he held his tongue, knowing that any such protests were futile.

Besides, Gerald had something else on his mind. "Why did _you_ pick us up today? Where's dad?"

"Pssh, busy I guess..." Jamie-O didn't have the heart to say where he really went.

"Figures," Gerald said with a shrug. "How are things at the garage?"

Jamie-O chuckled sardonically. "Not too bad. Pays okay, and I like the work. It's just the hours is all. That and my boss just makes me do all the work most days," he grumbled. "How you guys doing anyway?"

That took Gerald by surprise. Why would Jamie-O give a crap about how they were doing anyway? "Fine, I guess..." His tone undermined his words, however, and Jamie-O shook his head.

"That bad, huh? Yeah, I had a feeling things were shitty. I thought Mom called me a lot when I left the house, but now? With all that crap going on, she calls me all the freaking time. I just got off the phone with her before you guys came out."

Timberly gulped, wanting to ignore this conversation. "Gerald? Can I play with your phone?"

"She doesn't talk to us much," Gerald said as he pretended not to hear that. "I mean, not like that. They just try to pretend everything's fine. But like, we hear things, you know? So we know they're fighting a lot. They fight about money, they fight about us, they fight about dumb things. On top of that, they fight in front of us sometimes. Not much to talk about, I guess."

Jamie-O shrugged. "Yeah, it's pretty bad. Mom calls all the time to talk about Dad, and Dad calls once in a while to talk about anything _but_ Mom. It's stupid. You know, you two are gonna have some real growing up to do..." After a pause, something occurred to him as he thought about what Gerald just said, and he glanced in the mirror wide-eyed. "Wait, they fight in front of you guys?"

"Sort of, yeah," Gerald conceded. "Anything can start an argument. Anything! The other day they argued about you, since I asked if I could have your old room and Mom thinks you should keep it in case something happens and you have to come home. Like, they tried to pretend things were okay in front of us, but they clearly weren't, and as soon as we weren't right in front of them, the yelling started."

"I heard them from my room..." Timberly said quietly.

Jamie-O had to resist the childish urge to fight for his room, and he shook his head. "That's bullshit, man. Like, that ain't right."

"Gerald? Can I please play games on your phone?" Timberly asked again.

Gerald, not wanting to get on either sibling's bad side right now, simply yanked his phone out of his pocket with a frustrated grunt and handed it over to her, just so she could get lost in a Mermaid Man puzzle game and avoid the current conversation. "Is there anything you can do?" Gerald asked his brother.

"I can try to talk to them about yelling and fighting in front of you guys, but don't expect things to go back to normal."

"What do you mean?" Gerald was already certain that it wouldn't be easy to fix the current situation, and he'd often wondered just how long it was going to last, but he never considered the notion that a more permanent change was in store.

"I mean, some relationships just...change. Things might be good for a long time, then they ain't. Nothing we can do about it."

Gerald's head hung low for a moment. Would his parents never be happy with each other again? What would that mean in the end, for him and for Timberly? He glanced over at Timberly, watching her as she played those dumb puzzle games on his phone, and wondered just how well she'd take it if their parents really... Heck, how well would he take it?

"How's Arnold doing?"

Gerald's head shot up as his previous train of thought was utterly derailed. "Huh?"

"Arnold. The dork with the weird head, never touched a comb in his life. Your boyfriend, remember?"

Gerald rolled his eyes at that. "Real mature, Jamie-O... Honestly, he's been bugging me lately."

"Yeah? Why's that?"

"He's a bad friend and he ignores Gerald all the time," Timberly says casually.

"Timberly!" Gerald growled.

"What? It's true," she replied with a shrug. "You shouldn't let him bug you so much. You should be hanging out with people who actually _want_ to hang out with you. People who care about you for real..."

Jamie-O laughed. "Damn, Sis, that was stone cold! And you know what, Bro? She ain't wrong. Let me guess, the boy's all girl crazy, so he ain't got time for you."

Gerald gulped. "Um... Yeah, something like that. He started dating Helga last summer, kind of, and now he's friends with the new girl too."

"Daisy," Timberly added.

"Yeah, Daisy. It's like, if he's not busy with Helga all day, he's doing something with Daisy. It's not so bad when we're all hanging out together, but he's still usually got his head in the clouds. It's like he doesn't even notice anything's wrong with me."

Jamie-O didn't have to think long to come up with advice. Whether or not it was any good is another story. "So dump him. He wants to chase tail, let him. You and Phoebe still a thing?"

"Yeah...?"

"Well, shit, Bro! What are you complaining about? You got your lady, and you two doing great. You're a better friend _and_ a better boyfriend, so at the end of the day? It's _his_ loss, not yours."

Gerald blinked with surprise. He had a point there. Gerald was willing to help Arnold and Helga both at the Halloween party, and despite his initial frustration and confusion, he tried to be friends with Helga, and so far it wasn't too bad. If anything she was being a better friend right now than Arnold was, and that realization blew his mind. "You really think so?"

"Hell yeah. Shit like this happens all the time, it's no big deal. Friends outgrow each other sometimes. You think I still hang out with my buddies from 6th grade? No way, Bro. I stay away from those d-bags for a reason."

"What's a d-bag?" Timberly asked curiously.

"It's a swear word," Gerald warned. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but... Thanks, Bro."

"No problem," Jamie-O said with a half-smile. "Anyway, we're almost home... Well, you guys are."

"Dad usually takes us for a longer ride," Timberly said with a glance at Gerald, who had no idea what she meant. Still, he didn't really want to go home just yet. Jamie-O could be a little rough on the outside, but at least it wasn't so tense and depressing as home was.

"Yeah, we're not usually home so soon. Think we could ride around a little longer? Please?"

"Maybe we can go to the candy store?" Timberly asked before she and Gerald quietly bumped fists, silently agreeing to indulge their sweet tooth a bit.

Jamie-O glanced at them in the mirror with suspicion in his eyes, but considering what home meant for his younger siblings at the moment, he shrugged and took the next right instead of heading straight home. "You got it. So long as I don't get chewed out for this later."

Gerald and Timberly both let out a sigh of relief and relaxed in their seats. As Jamie-O took them on a more casual drive around town, Gerald remembered that he'd been invited to Daisy's house. Just him and Arnold, since Phoebe and Helga couldn't go.

He wondered if he would take them up on the invitation.

* * *

"So, um... Is there a reason we're going for a walk instead of my house?" Daisy asked as they walked along. "It's still pretty cold out..."

"Sorry about that," Arnold gulped as he rubbed the back of his neck. He felt bad enough to begin with after changing plans the way he did, especially when going to her house was her idea, and one she was particularly excited about. But he knew that in the long run, if he could help her, it would be worth it. "We're almost there."

"Almost where?" she asked curiously as she looked around, glimpsing various shops and businesses. There was a record store, a butcher shop, a tool shop, a couple empty buildings, a candy store, and even a little electronics repair shop. None of which were their destination, apparently. "Kinda weird, the whole 'mystery' act. You can tell me where we're going, Arnoldo."

Arnold blinked and looked at her with his head cocked to one side. What he just heard sounded so odd, she may as well have been speaking Esperanto. "Did you just call me Arnoldo?"

"Yeah," Daisy said with a little giggle. "Doesn't everyone call you that?"

"Uhhh... No, just Helga. It's...her thing..."

"Ohhh, dang it... Sorry, dude. I get it now," Daisy said with a slow nod.

Arnold was relieved that it wasn't a big deal. A moment later, his relief turned to another kind of nervousness, as he realized they had just about reached their destination. "It's right up ahead," he said before taking a deep breath and walking her up to another little building she hadn't seen yet since she'd moved to town. When she read the sign, she turned to Arnold as she wrapped her arms around herself, eyes wide with worry.

"Arnold... I can't go in there..."

"Just hear me out," he said quietly.

"Arnold, please..."

"Just..." He swallowed hard and touched her arm. "We don't have to go in there, okay? I won't make you if you don't want to. But I knew you'd say no automatically unless I took you to it in person."

Daisy stared up at the sign: Palmer's Paws. An animal shelter. Full of dogs. "I don't know if I can..."

"I know it's hard, I understand that, but listen: the dogs are all fenced in. There's absolutely nothing they can do to you. Plus, you have me here. I'll make sure it's safe, okay?" Arnold finally got her attention with that, as she looked into his eyes. "Again, if you don't want to, then we won't. It'll be just fine. But you can't be afraid forever. This is a chance to finally conquer your fears. I honestly believe you can do it."

Daisy took a deep breath as she took turns looking at the now ominous building before her and the blonde-haired boy at her side. "You're sure they'll be fenced in?"

"Positively."

"You'll stay close in case I get freaked out? I mean, the barking alone..."

"Of course."

With one last look at the exterior of Palmer's Paws, Daisy closed her eyes tight, thinking back to the day she was attacked, how it felt to have that dog's jaws clamp down hard on her leg and pull on her skin, scratching her with its paws all the while. She thought back to how her classmates teased her, showing her pictures of dogs, calling her scaredy-cat, and eventually barking at her until she had to leave school that day and never go back. The pain of it all was still so fresh in her mind, like it had only happened yesterday.

But it hadn't.

"Arnold..." Daisy held out her hand and turned her head to meet his gaze. "I'll do it. Just...hold my hand, okay?"

"That's grea-wait... Hold your hand?"

Daisy sighed and rolled her eyes. "Arnold, you sprung an awful lot on me, and without warning. Out of the blue you're asking me to do something crazy, something really hard for me. You never talked to me about how I'd feel about this beforehand. And, like... It's fine, really, I swear I'm not mad or anything, and I'm willing to try it, but I just... I just need you to hold my hand, okay? It's not weird unless you make it weird."

Arnold stared at her for a moment, and realized she was right. He took a mental note to apologize once this was all over, and simply nodded. "Okay." With that, he hesitantly reached over and offered his hand. Daisy took his hand with just as much hesitation, and after just one more deep breath, the pair walked inside.

Not before their stalker managed to get a photo of them holding hands, of course.

* * *

Once they were allowed to the room where the dogs were kept in the back of the shelter, Daisy tensed up immediately, and they began quite a routine. First Arnold would stop at a cage and gesture to the dog inside. Then, Daisy would cower or yelp or freeze in place as though they were trying to avoid a tyrannosaurus in the middle of _Jurassic Park_.

Arnold beckoned her to a cage with a Pug. "He's not so bad. He actually looks kind of cute, huh?" Daisy slowly approached him and turned to look at the goofy little thing. She bit her lip as she leaned toward the chain-link fence door to get a closer look, but at the sound of the smallest little rumbly growl, she shrank back and stood closer to Arnold, shaking her head.

"Okay, how about...this one?" He said as he brought her to a Chihuahua. "It's so tiny, no way it could be scary." Daisy was quick to join him, away from the pug, and looked at him.

"Arnold, small dogs are vicious. Everyone knows this."

"Just try talking to it," Arnold said with a shrug. "It'll be fine."

Daisy gulped and stepped toward it, and before she could finish saying "hi" the dog turned into a vicious little goblin and started barking at her. She let out a small shriek and hid behind her football-headed friend.

Arnold sighed, and they moved on to the Husky. Too big, and its howl was creepy. Then a Boxer, which was so energetic that Daisy had to be reassured that it couldn't get through the fence door. The French Bulldog looked at her weird. The Golden Retriever was too big, and sticking its nose against the fencing must have meant it wanted to bite her. Despite Arnold's best Scooby Doo impression, Daisy wouldn't even give the Great Dane a chance. Arnold wasn't so surprised about that one, if he had to be honest. That dog was gigantic.

Eventually it came to pass that not a single dog was able to win Daisy's heart. They all scared her somehow. Arnold's head was low as they walked out. If she couldn't conquer her fears through the safety of a shelter where the dogs are fenced in, would she ever be able to? The one time he saw her actually interact with a dog, she screamed like she was dying. Could she even handle something like that again?

"What's wrong, Arnold?" Daisy asked quietly, her hands in her pockets now as they walked back down the street.

Arnold decided not to mince words. "I was just hoping that this would help, that's all. You haven't conquered your fears and I honestly don't know what else to do."

"Wait... You thought I would just conquer my fears just like that? One visit to a shelter and poof, dogs no longer freak me out at all?" She rolled her eyes. "That was never going to happen, silly. But... I do think it helped, actually."

Arnold's head shot up at that, and he looked at her with the hope in his eyes restored. "Really?"

Daisy sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I mean... I don't know, maybe if I just...keep coming back here, over time... Who knows? Didn't scream or cry or anything, so... Maybe you did have the right idea after all. At least, I hope so..."

"Wow... That's great! How about next week?"

Daisy gulped before smiling. "Sure, Arnold."

"That's awesome! And if you want to come back sooner-"

"That's okay," Daisy interrupted with a nervous laugh. "For now, once a week sounds reasonable."

"Once a week it is," Arnold said with a cheerful grin. As they kept walking, almost reaching the street she lived on, he recalled the circumstances of her first visit. How he surprised her with it, not considering her feelings. "Hey, by the way, um... I'm sorry I didn't talk to you first. I should have been more considerate."

Daisy placed her hand gently on his back. "It's okay, Arnold. You were just trying to help."

Arnold let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't long before she was finally home. She couldn't help but invite Arnold in anyway, but he politely declined, knowing he'd have to be home soon. After a friendly reminder that they were to hang out at her place on Saturday with their friends, they finally said their goodbyes and Arnold went on his way.

As he realized the big step Daisy had just taken, he couldn't wait to tell Helga all about it when he got home.

* * *

"Well, I think it's great," Phoebe replied with a shrug. "Why aren't you happy for her, Helga? She's been dealing with these fears for a long time. I'm proud of her for taking steps toward recovery."

Helga sighed as she sat beside her friend on her bed, both of them waiting for Arnold and his parents to show up and whisk them away to Daisy's house, as planned. "I am happy for her. It's just, well... Arnold was so excited to tell everyone. Oh, Daisy went to the shelter, and she faced her fears and met a bunch of dogs, and she's going to start going there more often to help herself, blah blah blah. Like, I get it, you know? Good for her, really. Seriously... It's just..."

"What is it?" Phoebe asked curiously.

"Has Arnold ever, like...called you guys, or just, you know...bragged about me? Like... Has he ever gotten all worked up, and...you know what I mean?"

Phoebe nodded as she listened closely, understanding a bit more where Helga was coming from. "Not to me... But perhaps you should talk to Gerald. I'm almost certain that Arnold has spoken quite highly of you to him."

"He has...?"

"I believe that is the case. Admittedly, Gerald wasn't sure about you two at first. He was rather suspicious of your intentions toward his best friend. However, he no longer worries about such things. In fact, he told me that you tried to talk to him about...what he's going through. And that, well...you spoke rather highly of me, actually..." Phoebe said with a bit of a bashful smile, adjusting her glasses as she cleared her throat.

Helga sighed with a little relief, knowing now that Arnold did at least talk about how great she was with his best friend. "Yeah, I did speak highly of you. Know why?"

"I'm the greatest?"

"You are the greatest," Helga said with a smile and a gentle nudge to the shoulder. "So, you're saying Gerald's warming up to me because Arnold talks me up to him...?"

"That's right," Phoebe nodded affirmatively. "You have nothing to worry about."

"I hope you're right, Pheebs. I still can't help but feel something nagging at me, but... I hope you're right." Helga tapped the bed beside her with her fingers and, wondering why the Shortmans were taking so freaking long, decided to pull out her phone to check for any messages she might have missed. She sighed, disappointed, and set her phone down.

"I'm sure they're on their way," Phoebe said with a shrug.

"Yeah, I guess... How do I look, by the way?" Helga had decided to wear her old Cecile skirt-and-sweater combo, plus some black leggings and of course a pair of warm winter boots. January weather naturally wouldn't permit for flashier footwear, unfortunately. She also decided to wear her hair down for a change, having "borrowed" some of Olga's dumb hair product samples. And of course, her distinctive pink bow was intact.

"You look very nice, Helga. I see you've broken out the old Cecile disguise," Phoebe noted with a raised brow.

"Hey, a classic never dies, am I right?" Helga said with a shrug and a smirk.

"And you're wearing your hair down. Going for a bit of a change, are we?" Phoebe asked with a certain tone of voice, the kind where she tried to hint that she knew something without just coming right out and saying that she knew something.

"Maybe. Nothing permanent, just...trying it out..." Helga said quietly.

"Uh-huh," Phoebe said as she crossed her arms. "Want me to dye it for you? Hmmm...?"

Helga laughed nervously. "Don't be prepostulous," Helga replied. Luckily for her, she was saved by the notification she'd been waiting for. "Well, look at that! They're here! Wouldn't you know it? Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go, Phoebe! Yeesh!" Without another word, Helga jumped up from her bed, put on her coat and her earmuffs, and practically raced to the front of the Emporium

Phoebe smirked as she followed her, calling out to her as she'd always done, "Coming, Helga! Also, the correct term is preposterous! ...Or ridiculous!"

* * *

The ride to the Collins house was pleasant, for the most part. Everyone was rather excited to visit their new friends. Miles and Stella were talking about things they could share that they'd learned through their many international adventures. Meanwhile, there was a bit more awkwardness in the back seat as Phoebe and Helga listened to Arnold go on about how they had no idea what to expect and even though it might be weird Daisy is their friend and she probably has a lot of cool stuff and so on and so on.

"Hey, Arnoldo. Maybe take a minute to breathe? Criminy, at least talk about something else," she said quietly with a nudge of her elbow.

Arnold stopped mid-sentence and blinked. "Um... Okay... So uh, you look really nice," Arnold said a little awkwardly, but he tried to hide it with a smile.

"Thanks," Helga said as she turned to look past Phoebe out the window. Still, her face couldn't help but turn red. He was, after all, her beloved, just as he'd always been. Sensing a morsel of tension between them, Phoebe tried to give Arnold a little boost.

"I really like your hair like this, Helga," Phoebe chimed in. "What do you think, Arnold?"

Arnold looked at Helga beside him and his smile grew. "I like it too. I still like it the other way, but this is nice." At that he reached up to gently caress her hair, and that was enough to get Helga's attention again.

"Really?" Helga asked as her smile started to return to her.

"Really," Arnold replied with a nod.

Helga's smile grew, but with it the nagging voice in the back of her head got louder. She decided that now was the perfect time to say something she'd been meaning to say. "Hey, um... When this is all over, I think we should talk about something."

"Huh?" Arnold's face instantly went from warm, boyish grin to wide-eyed and worried. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's not... We're not, like... I don't mean anything like _that_ , it's just... Something that's been on my mind lately, and I think we should try and sort it out. But it's okay! I'm fine, everything's fine. I'm the _queen_ of fine right now. Just...later, I really need to talk. Okay?"

Arnold nodded slowly as his concern dissipated. Mostly. "Okay, Helga. I promise, whatever it is, we'll talk about it all you want. Okay?"

"Okay," she said as she took his hand. As they finally pulled up to the Collins house, with Daisy waving out the window, Helga realized now that this huge important talk she'd been wanting to have with Arnold was finally going to happen. She was going to speak her mind about him, and their relationship, and her concerns about Daisy, and they were going to settle things once and for all. On one hand, it would give her peace of mind. On the other, it terrified her.

Even worse, now that they'd arrived, Helga had no idea what was going to happen once they were inside. Would their little party calm her nerves, or raise the tension even more? The whole situation hit her all at once, and one word echoed in her mind:

"Crap..."

* * *

 **A/N: I'm back. I'm sorry it took so long this time. I hate that I've kept you guys waiting this long and I hate to keep playing this "I'm back" record on a loop, but dang it, I AM BACK. I missed you guys, and I hope you missed me too! Things are coming to a head. The next chapter (or two), which HOPEFULLY won't take too long to get out there, will be explosive. After that, expect things to quiet down. Little less constant drama. More fluff, more fun, a few thrills perhaps but nothing quite so dramatic as this.**

 **And after a few of those lighter chapters, well... Remember the description of this tale? Remember the part where "true love faces its greatest challenge"? I know it might seem like that's a reference to the current storyline, but true love's greatest challenge still hasn't happened yet! And it's coming...**

 **Oh, and one quick fun note: Esperanto is a real language AND a made up one! It was created in the 1800s as an attempt to invent a brand new universal, international language. I felt like mentioning it here because despite its intentions, it's still a pretty weird and obscure language, and I felt that it would be a decent metaphor for how strange it would be for Arnold to hear "Arnoldo" coming from anyone but Helga.**


	31. Witch Trials

**Hearts of Gold**

31\. Witch Trials

Right away as everyone walked into the Collins house, they were hit with the smell of burning incense. Arnold, Helga, and Phoebe had no idea what it was, only that it smelled quite good. Of course, Stella recognized it right away. "Oh, I love that smell. Nag Champa?"

Grace smiled brightly and nodded. "Yes! I'm really glad you like it. I wasn't sure if I should burn any or not. Incense helps me relax, and it keeps the house from smelling like a foot, but some folks don't care for it very much." Daniel chuckled and put a reassuring hand on her back. He had told her earlier that she shouldn't have worried, and for her sake he was happy to be right.

"Good to see you again, Tiny!" Miles said as he held his hand out for Daniel to take it in his firm, tight grip and shake it. Miles tried to hide the brief moment of pain it gave him, but Daniel could tell from the dilation of his pupils that he'd squeezed his hand a bit too hard.

"Likewise, Miles. And uh, sorry about that, heh..."

"It's okay," Miles said with a laugh as he rubbed the back of his neck. With his other hand.

"Are they here yet!?" Daisy called up from downstairs, only to start quickly stomping her way up without waiting for an answer. The three of them waved as she reached the surface, and she ran up to give all of them a big, warm hug. "Hi, guys! I can't believe you're here! Oh my god, I have to show you _everything!_ Follow me, this way!"

Helga wasn't thrilled to see her hug Arnold like that. As she and the others followed Daisy through the house's main level, she began to wonder, did she hug him a little longer than everyone else? Helga wasn't sure. Dang it, why didn't she time it? Although, who the heck times hugs like that? Crazy people, that's who! Helga told herself to get a grip.

The house still had a bunch of boxes here and there. It was a mostly normal house other than that and a few things here and there that had the gang quite curious. A sickle had been hung up by the door. There were shelves with little wooden figurines on them, all of them carved by hand. There were family photos on the walls, but alongside them were strange abstract paintings both large and small. There were lots of hand-made items in fact, from knitted blankets and pillows to little wooden drink coasters, and even some weird lamps with porcelain bases that looked like trees, and colorful lampshades in various shades of green, yellow, and orange.

There was a quick stop by one room that was nearly finished: Daisy's parents' studio. Miles and Stella had already been led in there, and Grace was telling them about how therapeutic painting was for her while Daniel stood off to the side by another shelf of his wooden figurines, which he was too bashful to mention out loud.

"Your parents are very creative," Phoebe pointed out.

"Right? My mom actually used to make my toys when I was little. I still have my stuffed Mothman on my bed."

"Mothman?" Helga asked with a raised brow. "Hope he doesn't eat holes in the sheets," she said with a snarky little laugh. Daisy merely giggled and shrugged.

"He hasn't yet!" With that, Daisy led them to their last stop before going downstairs to her room: the kitchen and dining room area, where there was quite the spices-and-herbs rack, and various pots and pans hung over an island in the middle of the kitchen. Helga's head fell to one side as she noticed a little witch doll hanging above the sink, and took note to ask Daisy about that later. When she saw the rather large fridge and pantry area, however, Helga was quite delighted, and immediately started raiding for junk food.

"Um, Helga?"

"Hm? Wha?" she managed to say, which was a lot considering how focused she was on figuring out where all the good munchies were kept.

"If you want snacks or a drink or something, I have some stuff in my room downstairs..."

That got Helga's attention. "Well, what are we doing standing around here? Let's go!"

The others shared knowing smirks and did their best not to laugh too much as Helga now led the way to the stairs, descending into the basement. Where it was rather dark. And a little cold. She almost reconsidered her haste until the rest of the gang met her at the bottom, and Daisy opened the door to her actual bedroom.

Despite several boxes still left to unpack, the room was quite a sight. For the first time, Arnold's room had some competition. To start with, Daisy had him beat for size. She had a TV set up, along with a small couch and some bean bag chairs. Her bed was already set up too, of course, sporting white and black checkered covers, and red and black curtains hanging down from a spooky black canopy. It reminded Helga of that weird TV show she saw once, something about twins, or twin something, whatever. Sure enough, a stuffed Mothman rested against her pillows, which was entirely black except for its large, round red eyes.

That wasn't the only thing that was peculiar, however. The walls had been painted purple, there were long, thin white candles sitting in old metal fixtures, and even stranger odds and ends than there were upstairs. On her bedside table sat a very realistic-looking human skull, next to a lamp with a shade reminded Phoebe of the stained glass windows in old churches she'd seen from research for a history assignment. There were posters of old horror films and metal bands all over one wall, from _Frankenstein_ and _Island of Lost Souls_ to _Poltergeist_ and _The Evil Dead_ , from Siouxsie & The Banshees and Black Sabbath to Ghost and Rammstein.

On another wall there was a large book shelf, which held a collection of books, movies, and even music. There were lots of books about ghosts, vampires, and other such paranormal activity, featuring authors like Stephen King, Peter Straub, and Ramsey Campbell. Her film collection was mostly scary movies, some of them bearing foreign names all the way from Spain, Italy, and even Japan. All her music was carefully organized, divided into CDs and just a few vinyl records, consisting mostly of old rock and metal albums set beside a cheap turntable and a modest stereo that was easily dwarfed by Arnold's.

On one shelf sat a few random oddities that didn't seem like part of a larger collection. A spirit board was on display in an old wooden box. A small old briefcase sat beside it, and neatly fastened inside was a crucifix, a bible, two small bottles of holy water, several small bottles containing garlic, wild rose petals, mountain ash, and wolf's bane, and the main attraction: three wooden stakes. In other words, Daisy owned a realistic replica of a vampire hunting kit. Gathered around the assorted oddities were various smaller display pieces, little crystals and skulls and dice and a tiny aluminum dragon, and so on.

Almost the whole room was devoted to the dark and the macabre, which no one really expected, least of all Arnold. "Wow. This is...really something," Arnold said with a nervous gulp. What could possibly be in the boxes she had left, he wondered?

"Right? I love it! The finished basement room was one of the main reasons we got this house. I always wanted a basement room like this," Daisy said with a big smile. Just then she remembered something. "Oh! Helga, I forgot! In the corner by the TV, I have a little mini-fridge, and the closet area next to my dresser is too small so I keep some of my own food in there. You're all welcome to-"

Helga interrupted her and yelled, "Hell yeah! PANTRY RAID!" before taking off like a bat out of hell.

Daisy's face turned bright red as Helga started to forage for snacks the way a starving raccoon digs through garbage. "Huh...? Did she say...?" she asked in a quiet, bashful tone.

"Um, she said _pantry_ raid," Arnold clarified with a gulp. "Not...that other thing..."

"Oh..." Daisy's face only got a little redder as she realized how awkward that was. Thankfully no one mentioned it beyond that. Meanwhile, Helga's excitement unfortunately started to shift toward frustration.

"Veggie straws? Kale chips? Popcorn with no butter? What the..." She quickly opened the mini-fridge and was equally disappointed. "Sparkling water? Tea!? Who buys this crap anyway!? Where's all the junk food!?"

"My parents buy it. I like this stuff," Daisy said quietly as she shuffled her feet a bit.

"There's iced tea in there," Arnold said like the optimist he is. "That's pretty good."

"Where's the Yahoo Soda? Or the Doritos, the pork rinds, the Reptar bars, the freaking popcorn that's just dripping in butter and fat and oil!?"

"There's popcorn in there," Daisy said as she found a bag in her little pantry and handed it to Helga. She wasn't pleased. "No butter? No trans fat? _Lightly_ salted!? Where did you even find this, the freaking moon!?"

"Helga, it's fine. There's nothing wrong with this stuff," Arnold said as he took Helga's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Helga looked at him, then at Phoebe, who by now had already grabbed a strawberry lemonade sparkling water, and she let out a long sigh.

"Sorry, Daisy. Just remind me to show you the _good_ stuff some time, got it?"

Daisy gave her a nervous little smile and nodded. "Got it..." She cleared her throat and glanced over at the remaining boxes. Arnold could tell what she was thinking, and spoke up for her.

"Let's get started with the rest of these boxes, shall we?" Arnold said in a rather chipper mood. "If we all work together, we can have this whole room finished! What do you say, guys?"

"I'd like that," Phoebe said with a smile of her own. "I like decorating at home."

Helga looked around at everyone, and then at the boxes. She hated unpacking boxes now more than ever, what with her father always demanding her to unpack more and more useless junk tech, but she couldn't help but be intrigued at the thought of what could be in the boxes before her. What might she discover about dear ol' Daisy ? Perhaps she'd find something embarrassing, something Daisy wouldn't want anyone else to see.

Then again, did she really want to find such things? She wasn't sure. Daisy had been nothing but kind to her from the moment they met. Unless her suspicions were true, that is, in which case she was the most rotten person in the world. Although, it'd be more like the _second_ most rotten person in the world...

Before her head could spin any faster, she blurted her answer out: "Let's do this."

* * *

A couple hours later, when the dust had settled (what little there was left anyway), Daisy's room was finally finished. Another wall was filled with posters. More books were put away on a second, smaller set of shelves. A dream catcher made of crow feathers and red and blue beads was hung over the head of her bed. Arnold was happy to find that she had an old video game console ready to hook up to her television, with games like _Super Castlevania IV_ and _Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts_ all ready to go. Daisy was very happy to have Phoebe's help when it came to arranging the room to take advantage of all the space they had in a very neat, orderly fashion.

Helga was oddly relieved that she didn't come across any dirt. She was far more relieved that she didn't come across any rats or giant spiders. Or giant rats. However, there was one thing she'd helped Daisy set up that she couldn't stop thinking about.

"Thank you guys so much! You're the best friends I could have asked for. Like, seriously."

"You're welcome, Daisy," Arnold said with that big smile he always got when he helped someone. "You have a pretty cool room. It is a little...eccentric, but it's still cool."

"While I must admit to being rather unfamiliar with the um, the _goth_ lifestyle, I simply must compliment your stylistic sensibilities nonethele-"

"Hey, Daisy..." Helga interrupted again. "What the heck is this?" she asked as she stood near a corner, where a small table had been set up with five short candles sat at the points of a pentagram. There were two purple candles, a red candle, a white candle, and a pink candle, with a small stone at each of them. In the center of the arrangement was a wooden figurine of someone kneeling, painted in a beautiful, dreamlike swirl of all the colors of the rainbow.

"Wow," Arnold said as he and the others all approached it. "It's beautiful. Is that, like...some kind of menorah or something?"

"No, Arnold. Criminy, this is clearly some kind of pagan altar of some kind. The star has five points, see? Not six. It's a pentagram." Everyone looked at her curiously, and she shrugged innocently. "What? So I've seen a few ritualistic pagan altars in my day, it's no big deal..."

Daisy laughed at the exchange. "No, it's not a menorah, silly. And I don't know if I'd call it pagan either. I'm not, like... I wouldn't call myself _religious_ exactly, I just like to engage with the spiritual side of myself, and the spiritual world around us."

"Figures," Helga said with an eye roll. "So what is this for?"

Daisy looked at the altar and took a deep breath as she stared at the candles."So, this altar is for the victims of the Salem witch trials. The two purple candles are for the fourteen women and the red candle is for the five men, all of whom were found guilty and hanged for witchcraft. The pink candle is for the five people who died in jail before their trial, and the white candle is for poor mister Giles Corey."

"What happened to him?" Helga asked in a quiet tone. Phoebe opened her mouth to answer Helga's question, as she was prone to doing, but she quickly realized it was best if Daisy answered.

"He refused to plead innocent _or_ guilty, so they tried to get him to plead by torturing him. They put a big wooden board on top of him and then piled a bunch of big, heavy stones on it. He was crushed to death by the weight." She picked up the little stone next to his candle and held it between her hands, cupping it like a baby bird and holding it close to her heart. "All of these people were misjudged because of who they were. They were different, and that made them easy targets..."

She placed Mister Corey's stone back where it belonged and sighed, "I guess I think of them as being kind of lonely, so... This is where I come to talk to them. I channel my energy through the figure in the middle and I uh...visit them in the astral realm."

Helga's first thought was that Daisy really was a quack after all, but this instinct was quickly pushed away when she remembered her own altar at home, and the reasons for which she had made so many such altars to begin with. Who was she to judge someone that, had she not been so stressed and so paranoid, she would have easily related to in that sense? "Well, um..." She gulped and, with a little nervous hesitation, put a hand on Daisy's shoulder. "I bet they...I bet they appreciate the company..."

Daisy smiled at that. "Thank you, Helga... Oh! That reminds me! I made something for you!" Daisy quickly walked over to her dresser and pulled something out, holding it behind her back as she returned. "So, I know things were a little tense at first, but I wanted to show you there's no hard feelings, and to tell you that you are loved and you are a wonderful friend."

Helga stared as Daisy pulled from behind her back another little witch doll, just like the one she'd seen in the kitchen. Helga took it slowly and tilted her head as she looked it over. "Wow. I meant to ask you about the one upstairs, actually. So, um... What is this, exactly?"

"It's a kitchen witch!" Daisy said with excitement. "Like a good luck charm. You hang it up in your kitchen and it helps to keep any negative energies and spirits away, allows your house to fill with more positive energy and good luck instead. Plus, isn't she cute!? I made her special, just for you. Hope you like it!"

Helga felt her heart ache as she thought of the miserable little employee lounge they were forced to use as a kitchen and dining room, and of all the negativity that always flourished at home. She doubted this thing would actually work the way Daisy described it.

And yet, Daisy made it just for her. She made it so that, in her own words, Helga would know she was loved and that she was a wonderful friend. And despite Helga's doubts that a little witch doll could actually drive the darkness from her home, the fact that Daisy would even want to help her at all had moved her. Maybe this little doll couldn't drive away the darkness, but at the very least, it could provide a little more light.

Helga hugged the little witch doll close at first, and then she slowly, and a little hesitantly, hugged Daisy as well. "Thank you. I love it. Really. It's...really great, Daisy."

Daisy was surprised, but she wasn't one to let a hug go one-sided, and returned the hug tightly. "You're welcome, Helga." Phoebe crossed her arms and smirked, a little "I told you so" look on her face, while Arnold grinned with pride. For a moment, Helga started to wonder if she'd been wrong all along.

Then Phoebe's phone went off in her pocket.

Helga quickly twisted her head around to face her best friend, and slowly pulled away from Daisy. "Phoebe...?"

"I'll check," she said after clearing her throat, trying not to sound nervous as she pulled it out.

"Check what? You don't have to go home early, do you?" Daisy asked, hopeful that wasn't the case.

"It's probably Gerald," Arnold said nonchalantly. "How's he doing? Ask if he wants to do a video call with us!"

"Arnold," Helga said a little too curtly, "Just... Just wait..." She stepped closer to Phoebe, whose eyes widened as she swiped through the latest batch of photos. "Phoebe... Just let me see them."

"I-I don't know, Helga," Phoebe gulped, "Perhaps it would be better if we waited until-"

"Let me see them, Phoebe."

"I just think-"

"Let me see them!" Helga barked, snatching the phone from her hand.

She started looking through the photos, scrolling with one hand while tightly clutching the little kitchen witch in the other. It was a smaller batch than usual, and the photos weren't any more incendiary than the ones they'd already gotten. That is, until she saw the last one: a photo of Arnold and Daisy holding hands as they walked into the animal shelter.

Arnold and Daisy. Holding hands.

 _"Who said you could touch me!?"_

 _"Oh. Sorry..."_

 _"He finally noticed me, and I'm ruining it... He's not smirking or giving me that look with his eyes anymore, that half-lidded gaze, and... I know it's my fault, and I don't know what to do..."_

 _"Who said you could touch me!?"_

 _"Oh. Sorry..."_

 _"How do I convince you that I can be everything you want me to be?"_

 _"Hey, Arnold!"_

 _"You are loved, and you are a wonderful friend."_

 _"Who said you could touch me!?"_

 _"Hey, Arnold!"_

 _"I assure you, all is well."_

 _"Who said you could touch me!?"_

 _"Oh. Sorry..."_

 _"All is well... All is well... All is well..."_

 _"Hey, Arnold!"_

Helga snapped. Growling, she dropped the phone at her feet and threw the kitchen witch into one of Daisy's shelves, knocking the vampire kit and several smaller display pieces scattered to the floor.

"Helga!" Arnold yelled, jumping in front of her and gently grabbing her arms, just enough to get her full attention. "Why did you do that!?"

Helga wasn't having it. She shoved his hands away and got right in his face, close enough for him to see himself in the tears that were quickly pooling up in her eyes. "I'll tell you why, you- you- pea-brained, barf-faced, short-sighted, dishonest, aloof, football-headed liar! Because you and your new girlfriend actually thought you could pull this crap behind my back and get away with it!"

Arnolds eyes went wide as he felt a whirlwind of confusion and shock and pain rush through him all at once, gasping like a hurricane just slammed through his chest and filled his lungs almost to bursting. It took him a moment to find his bearings. "Helga, I-... I don't- What are you talking about!? New girlfriend!?"

All the while, Daisy watched in horror, hands clasped in front of her mouth. "What? I-I don't... Wh-Why...?" She trembled she sobbed into her hands, beginning to hyperventilate as Phoebe tried to text the stalker back with the baited link that would reveal their identity. It wasn't easy, as she simultaneously tried to decide whether to comfort Daisy or to help Arnold contain Helga's fury.

"That's right, bucko, your new girlfriend! Did you think I didn't know!?" Helga jabbed her finger into Arnold's chest as a torrent of tears ran down her face. "All you talk about is Daisy this, Daisy that, it's freaking constant with you! I should have known, as soon as a brand new pretty face walked in, you'd be all over her behind my back!"

"That's not true, Helga! Where are you getting this from!?"

Helga growled as she started getting dressed to leave. Daisy wanted to cry out for her to stay, even reaching out toward her from a distance, but she was too frightened to speak and probably couldn't manage any actual words at the moment anyway. "Phoebe, show him the damn photos. I don't care anymore," she snarled as her voice became shaky from trying not to lose her composure as she spoke.

"Helga, wait!" Arnold said as he ran up in front of her of once more. "What do I have to do? How do I prove that you're wrong? You haven't given either of us a chance to explain anything!"

Helga glared into his eyes with a coldness Arnold had never seen before, all the while she was doing everything she could not to fall apart. She struggled to think of something she could say, until at last the words she needed came to her.

"Cowlicks, like fields of yellow corn."

"Huh...?" Arnold blinked, not understanding.

"Cowlicks like fields of yellow corn... All the days of my week, I write the name I dare not speak...?"

"Helga, what does this-"

"How about this one: Arnold my love, my...?...my sultry preteen, why must I hold you only...whilst I dream?"

"...Helga, I don't..."

"H is for the head I'd like to punt...? No...?...All my days have come to this, my secret heart, spent in...one kiss...?"

Helga stared into his eyes, hoping he would figure it out. Inside she screamed, begging him to understand, not only to know the words she'd spoken but to know the words she hadn't. But the moment never came. He hadn't read them after all. "That's what I thought," she quietly sobbed before quickly walking out of Daisy's room, up the stairs, through the foyer, and out of the house.

Arnold stood there with the door in his face, still trying to put her words into some sort of context he was familiar with. Of course, only now after she'd gone, did he finally figure it out. "Oh, no..."

"Arnold, it's not your fault," Phoebe said in a sad tone, touching his arm. She then turned to look back at Daisy, who by now was sitting on the floor up against the back of her couch, curled into a ball as she stared at the mess Helga made, her gift lying there in the center of the little wreckage. Phoebe walked to her and sat down on the floor beside her, hugging her and whispering to her, "And it's not your fault either, okay?"

"Thank you," she said in a tiny, squeaky voice, like a frightened little mouse.

Phoebe sighed quietly and looked up at Arnold. "This all happened because Helga and I just thought it was better if we dealt with it on our own. But we were wrong. We should have told you sooner..."

It was then that Arnold turned around, wiping tears from his face. "Told us what?" He sat down against the back of the couch as well.

Phoebe took a deep breath and opened her phone to her gallery, ready to tell them the entire story, but before a single word could come out, her phone went off with another notification. Only this time it wasn't a text message from the stalker. It was an email. Quickly she scrambled to her inbox and sure enough, it was the data from the stalker's phone, provided by the catfish bait she sent them only moments ago. Moments that felt like an eternity now.

Phoebe inhaled sharply and held her hand over her mouth as she opened the message and saw the data for herself. She closed her eyes and shook her head as if to try and wake herself from some kind of bad dream. Arnold reached for the phone, and Phoebe let him take it to see for himself. His eyes narrowed. What the rest of this email was about, he had no idea.

All he knew was that he was looking at Gerald's phone number.

"Phoebe...?" Arnold asked quietly, "What just happened?"

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you guys so much for the support! I'm really happy to be delivering this chapter to you so soon after the last one. Even if it is "super lame and good"? LOL**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys really dig it! Please let me know what you think! I love hearing from you!**


	32. Falling Apart

**Hearts of Gold**

32\. Falling Apart

Phoebe scrolled through the photos slowly as Arnold and Daisy both leaned over to see them. Photos of just the two of them, with no one else around. Photos of them walking together, laughing together, photos of them on what looked like a date at Slausen's, photos of Arnold comforting Daisy after the dog "attacked" her, and now photos of the two of them holding hands.

Arnold knew that these photos were not what they looked like. He had an explanation for all of them. And yet the more he repeated those explanations in his head, the more they sounded like excuses. After all, he knew the photos weren't altered or anything. He and Daisy needed no help to look like they were some kind of secret couple. The only thing missing was a kiss, and Arnold was thankful that as affectionate as Daisy was, she never did kiss him on the cheek. For that, Helga might have actually murdered him.

All the same, he couldn't help feeling like he would have deserved it. "Wow," was all he could say.

"So, you and Helga have had these photos all this time?" Daisy asked with a little sniffle, turning to look at Phoebe. "Why didn't you come to us when you first got them? I mean... I thought I was pretty clear about my feelings, but... Did you guys just not trust me?"

Phoebe shook her head right away. "It wasn't that, honest! At least, not at first... When we got our first batch we figured out that someone was probably trying to mess with everyone. Especially Helga, because he..." Phoebe paused with a wince, finding it difficult to accept the stalker's identity. "Because the stalker wanted Helga to doubt Arnold, probably to try and break them up. We wanted to try and avoid any drama, so we decided to handle it ourselves..."

"But Helga couldn't stop thinking about the photos, so her insecurities got the best of her," Arnold sighed.

Daisy did a double take. "Um, what?"

Arnold blinked. "I just said that, like... She's still really insecure, and-"

"Arnold," she interrupted, "It sounds like you're blaming her. Like her reaction is what's wrong..." Daisy sighed and wiped her eyes. "We did this. You and me. This is our fault. I... I know I'm just generally, like...touchy feely and all that. I hug everyone I care about, and to me holding hands is no big deal to me, and it's just... I wasn't thinking about how she'd feel. Neither of us were..."

Daisy's words stung, but Arnold knew she was right. This wasn't just Helga being insecure. "You're right, Daisy. I'm sorry... Honestly I feel like it's _all_ my fault. You were just being you. I'm her boyfriend and it's my job to know better..."

For a short while there was only silence after that. Daisy got up to clean the mess Helga had just made. Luckily nothing was broken, but upon finding the discarded kitchen witch, her tears returned and she sat on the edge of her bed, hugging it close. Arnold called Helga, but it was no use. She wouldn't answer. Since she hadn't set up her voicemail yet, something Phoebe had urged her to do on multiple occasions, he couldn't leave her a message either. So he tried texting her. Again, no response.

Phoebe sat staring at her phone in her hand, looking at a blank text screen. Arnold glanced over at her. "Is she not answering you either?"

"She already answered me," Phoebe sighed. "She just said she wanted to be alone."

"Oh," Arnold said as he head hung lower. "Are you still trying to get through to her?"

"No, I'm... I'm trying to think of what to say to Gerald..."

It was then that Arnold's sadness and worry for Helga slowly began to give way to frustration and anger. "You're sure it was him? If it was..."

"Why would he do that?" Daisy asked as she got up from her bed. "Has he ever done anything like this before?"

"Not like this, but... He loves being the boss. Like, he seems to think he can tell me what to do, who to hang out with, who to date. He didn't trust Helga, and he didn't trust my judgment. I thought he got over that but I guess he hasn't."

Phoebe hated to agree that some part of that was true. Gerald had been quite angry with Arnold for neglecting him, and there was a time he was upset about Arnold dating her best friend. However, it was difficult to reconcile that with what she'd seen and heard more recently. "I don't know, Arnold. There has to be some other explanation. Something we're overlooking..."

"Remember when we had to run the flower shop? I bet he never told you all the times he bossed me around then. Has he ever suggested you find a better best friend?"

Phoebe took off her glasses and massaged the bridge of her nose. "But that's all in the past. At least, I thought it was... I just feel like we can't rush into things. Helga flew off the handle and now look where we are. What if we're wrong? What if we're missing something? We have to be more careful about confronting him..."

"I think Phoebe's right, Arnold," Daisy added. "I don't... I don't want any more fighting. Whatever he's feeling right now, we can't go in guns blazing."

Arnold couldn't quite hear them, however. All he could hear was Helga's voice echoing in his head, all the raw heartbreak as she recited the first lines of her poems, hoping in vain that he would know them as well as she did. Knowing that Gerald had manipulated her the way he did, all he could see was red.

Suddenly he heard Mr. Collins yell down the stairs that dinner was ready. Phoebe and Daisy stood up and did their best to collect themselves, but Arnold remained seated on the floor where he was. "Are you coming, Arnold?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah. I just need another minute."

Daisy stared at him and let out a long, slow sigh. "Alright, Arnold. I understand..." With that the two girls quietly left the room, and Arnold pulled out his phone one more time.

He stared briefly at Gerald's number, at the little green phone button beside it, and without hesitation he pressed it. He stood up as the phone rang, pacing the room as he tried to prepare what he would say, only all the words were flying through his mind at the same time. Eventually he got Gerald's voicemail, and nearly hung up.

He decided not to. "Hey, it's Arnold," he says while trying to hide his anxiousness at first. "So, just letting you know? I found out what you've been up to, and so did everyone else, and thanks to you Daisy's been crying her eyes out, and Helga's at home probably doing the same thing. So thanks for ruining our relationship. I don't know what the heck is wrong with you, but you and me are gonna settle this."

He wanted to keep going, but he was interrupted by the sound of his dad calling down to him with a second reminder that dinner is ready. So he sighed, hung up his phone, and rejoined his friends upstairs. The friends he knew he had left, anyway.

* * *

Gerald stared at his plate of spaghetti and spun his fork around in circles, gathering the steaming hot strands around it in a loose coil, all the while just waiting for the inevitable. Sure, it was quiet at the moment, but soon someone would say something, and that would be it. The fighting would start.

This time it was a simple request from Timberly. "Hey, Gerald? Can I play my puzzle game on your phone?"

"I guess. I'm not using it right now anyway..." Gerald didn't even look at her as he pulled his phone out and set it on the table next to her.

That was all it took for his father to speak up. "You have your phone with you at the table?"

"I wasn't using it," Gerald said with a shrug. "Besides, it's on silent."

"I don't care, Gerald. You were supposed to keep your phone _turned off_ and in your room. That was our deal, remember?"

Gerald winced. He was still not very happy that he'd been grounded the whole weekend, thanks to that little "joy ride" with his brother, but at the very least he could keep his phone. Sort of. "Silent is _basically_ turned off, and so what if I brought it to the table? You've clearly _seen me_ sitting here _not_ using it. Timberly's the one playing with it at dinner, why isn't she in trouble?"

Timberly merely rolled her eyes at that. "Some brother you are," she mumbled as she reached the next level of _Evil Twin: Puzzle Slash._ Meanwhile their father continued, "Because you're the one who's supposed to set a good example for her, not the other way around. You're the older sibling, and that means _you_ are responsible. How many times do I have to tell you this?"

"Martin, be reasonable. The phone was in his pocket this whole time, he hasn't even touched the thing," said their mother.

Martin sighed. "Susan, you know how kids are these days. They're always finding sneaky ways to waste time on their phones when they're not supposed to. Besides, you're not seeing the bigger picture here."

"What bigger picture, Martin? Everywhere you look, there's a 'bigger picture' that no one else can see but you."

"Well, excuse me for trying to be a parent! Go ahead, son, get your phone out, do whatever you want. Stay up late, go to parties, anything you want. You want to start drinking? Go for it! Who needs college anyway, right?"

"Martin!" Susan shouted. "Don't talk to my son like that! What are you thinking!?"

"Oh, he's _your_ son now! I thought he was _our_ son, but I guess not! I don't suppose you have something you want to tell me!?"

As the arguing continued, Timberly quietly passed the phone back to Gerald, nudging it across the table like it was some kind of cursed object now. Gerald snatched the phone off the table, jumped up from his chair, and took off running to his room.

He could hear his parents yelling even louder once he slammed his door shut, and it wasn't long before he plugged in his headphones and pulled up a playlist of retrowave music. Once he cranked the volume, the sounds of his broken family were drowned out by Kavinsky and Lazerhawk and other 80s flavored synth artists.

Their old school beats couldn't block the pain, however, and in the privacy of his bedroom, the tears flowed freely. Why was his family falling apart? Why must there always be an excuse to start fighting? They didn't even try to hide their arguing anymore. They exploded in front of him whenever they felt like it, and in front of his sister too.

Gerald didn't like thinking of these things. He needed something, anything to distract him. The first thing that came to his mind was his girl Phoebe. The one bright light he could always count on. With his music still playing in the background, he sent her a text message.

 _Gerald:_ Hey babe. You still at the party? Need you bad

 _Gerald:_ Phoebe?

 _Phoebe:_ I'm sorry, Gerald. I can't talk right now.

Gerald stared at her message and typed up several different responses, but in the end he decided not to bother her. He considered texting Arnold, but decided against it. Instead, he decided to send a text to someone he never thought he'd ever turn to in a time like this. The irony, of course, was that Helga might have more insight into his situation than anyone else.

 _Gerald:_ Heyyy. You got a minute? Phoebe can't talk and I dunno who else to turn to

 _Helga:_ nope tehre is NO WAY IN HELL i am talkin gto you or ANYOEN right now got it!?

Well, that was a waste of time. Gerald wondered what had her in such a bad mood all of a sudden. To think, he was actually proud of the progress she'd been making.

With no one else to turn to, Gerald returned to his home screen so he could pull up his phone app and call his brother, AKA the last person he really felt like talking to. It was then that he noticed that he had one unopened message in his voicemail. He was confused at first, since he didn't remember any notification, but then he figured Timberly must have dismissed it when she was playing the latest dumb puzzle game to capture her imagination.

The music stopped as he played it. Everything seemed to stop as Gerald listened to what sounded an awful lot like Arnold...calling him out for something? What did he mean, 'found out what you've been up to' and 'ruined' his relationship with Helga? It certainly explains why Helga was so miserable when he texted her. Did he really mean _everybody_ found out whatever this was? Could that be why Phoebe wouldn't talk either?

His blood began to boil as he kept running over one thing over and over: that supposedly he had done something which caused Daisy, Helga, Arnold, and even Phoebe to be so upset with him that no one wanted to talk to him. But what? He was home all day, and he hadn't heard much from anybody. He hadn't done anything to anyone, as far as he knew.

As he tried to figure out what the heck that supposed "best friend" of his was even talking about, he saw his door open and he yanked his headphones off. His heart started beating even faster when he saw the look on his mother's face.

"Gerald, honey... Your father and I need to talk to you and Timberly downstairs."

Gerald blinked and slowly stood up from his bed. "Am I still in trouble...? Is this about something else? I'm sorry I didn't finish my dinner, I just-"

"No, baby, it's not about you, or your sister. It's about your father and I..."

* * *

Arnold stared up at the stars through the windows above his bed, on which he was lying in almost total darkness. Aside from the faint glow of the stars and the moon, the only other light was the occasional glow of his phone screen as he read over the unanswered texts he'd sent Helga, and the very hostile response that preceded them all. The only one she'd given all night long.

A quiet knock broke his morose trance and, upon realizing he was awake, his grandpa walked in. "Evening, Short Man! Surprised to see you awake," he said as he pulled a chair up by Arnold's bed and sat on it backwards, leaning over the back. "Something on your mind?"

"Well, today didn't go how I thought it would. It was supposed to be a great day, and it actually turned out pretty horrible... Say, if you didn't know I was awake, why'd you come in here?"

"Actually, I had a feeling something was bugging you, the way you came home all mopey and quiet. Plus, I can tell when you're sleeping since you're usually farting up a storm! Boy, you always did get quite the sleep farts," Phil laughed. "You used to toss your baby blanket up in the air and across the room! Looked like a magic carpet ride!"

Arnold was not amused. "Very funny, Grandpa..."

Phil sighed and shook his head. "Eleven years old and you couldn't even crack a smile at a fart joke. Now I know it's serious. Spill the beans, Short Man."

Arnold ignored his grandfather's snickering at that last attempt at fart-related humor and took a deep breath as he tried to think of the fastest way to explain everything. "Helga's angry with me because she thinks I was dating the new girl, Daisy, behind her back. And it turns out Gerald helped trick her into thinking it."

Phil winced. "Oof, that is quite the pickle you're in. How'd he pull off that one?"

Arnold winced in return as his anger turned into guilt. "Well... I've been spending a lot of time with Daisy, and I guess he's been following us, taking incriminating pictures and sending them to Helga... And, well... The last batch had pictures of me and Daisy holding hands, but it wasn't-"

"HOLDING HANDS!?" Phil yelled, only to realize he probably shouldn't wake up the entire boarding house. "Holding hands!?" he repeated with a harsh whisper, "What were you thinking, Short Man? You never, _ever_ hold hands with another woman!"

Arnold sighed and pulled a pillow onto his face. "I know, I know," he said with a muffled voice still full of despair. "What do I do?" He tossed the pillow aside and sat up to continue, "Helga won't even talk to me now. She ran out of Daisy's house all upset and she keeps saying she wants to be alone." Arnold's head fell and he closed his eyes. "I didn't even mention the worst part. All this time I've been hanging out with Daisy, I've been neglecting Helga's Christmas gift to me. She gave me all her poetry books, the poems she wrote about me, and...I haven't read them... I should have, I mean I meant to, I just... I don't know... I'm a terrible boyfriend..."

Arnold's grandpa took a deep breath and scratched his head. He knew the boy was punishing himself enough, so he didn't need to dwell on the things he'd done wrong. It was time to lift his spirits, even a little, and give him some helpful advice. "Well, Arnold, I can tell you this much. All that jazz about wanting to be left alone? That's just a bunch of phooey!"

"It is...?" Arnold said as he looked up with misty eyes.

"You're darn tootin'! She's only running away because she wants you to chase her! She wants you to just be a man and go after her, comfort her for pity's sake! Not sit here wallowing in, well... self pity! Girls only run away when they want you to catch them!"

Arnold sat up straighter and wiped his eyes. "I think you're right, Grandpa. About Helga, anyway... _Kind of_... You know, in a different context, I feel like that would be terrible, _terrible_ advice..."

Grandpa gulped and rubbed the back of his neck, realizing how that advice would probably only be helpful to a serial killer or something. "On second thought, that did sound really creepy... Okay, forget that, let me put it to you this way: after all these years alone, do you really think she wants to be by herself right now?"

Arnold nodded slowly. "I understand, Grandpa. Thanks for checking on me."

"You're welcome, Short Man." Phil stood up and stretched a bit before yawning and scratching his chest through his pajamas. "Wellp... I better get to bed. I have a feeling tomorrow might be pretty exhausting for me too..."

"How come?" Arnold asked curiously.

"I think your father and I are kicking Oskar out for good..."

"Oh wow," Arnold replied with wide eyes. "That's...crazy."

"Yup. Well, he's too far behind on the rent, and the arguing is just too much for the other tenants, so... I just hope Suzie doesn't go with him. If only she'd dump him, she could stay no problem. Ah well... Goodnight, Short Man."

"Goodnight, Grandpa." Arnold watched as his grandfather went back downstairs and off to bed before lying back down the way he was. Only, he couldn't help but feel rather energized after his grandpa's pep talk. He checked the time and, deciding it wasn't _too_ late, went against his better judgment and grabbed his coat, his hat, and his boots.

He knew he should wait until tomorrow to do this, but he couldn't spend another minute worrying about her. He had to talk to her, even if she killed him.

* * *

Helga didn't torture herself because she enjoyed it. Nonetheless, she couldn't help it. She sat on her bed, surrounded by blankets, empty soda bottles, and bags of junk food, looking through photos of Arnold on her phone. Not the photos that Gerald had apparently sent to Phoebe, but photos she'd taken of him. Photos of the two of them, and even just photos she took of him when he wasn't looking. She knew they would cause her pain. In the past, her worst days were often followed by such a ritual.

This pain was different, however. She hadn't just failed to get him to notice her, as she had often felt in the past. He finally had noticed her, and he had even loved her, and now she felt that she had failed to keep his attention. Even worse, she found herself wondering if perhaps he was the golden-haired love god she always imagined him to be. Until now he was everything she hoped for.

Now, he was the boy whose eyes always wandered. The more she thought about it, the more naive she felt. How could she not see it before? The way he kept jumping from one girl to another. Ruth, Lila, that teacher, that little beach tramp. Now Daisy.

Only, that couldn't possibly be true. Not only did he give her heart back to her, he gave her his own too. No matter how weird it was, he was committed to wearing his own locket just as she had done, in an act of romantic solidarity that proved to her once and for all that his love was real, and that dreams can came true after all.

This only made the doubt hurt even more. From as high as she had finally flown with him, she had plummeted. She liked that metaphor, actually. Like that old myth, that kid with the wings made of wax who flew too close to the sun, then they fell apart mid-air. Was it Icabod? Or Icaldi? Surely it wasn't iCarly, was it? Whatever that ancient idiot's name was, she felt just like him.

To her surprise she glanced over at her latest poetry notebook, even reached for it. She flipped to a blank page and held her pencil to it, but with a growl she furiously tossed both the notebook and the pencil across the room. Her eyes quickly welled up, and she held her hand over her face to catch a quiet sob.

"Damn it," she whispered as she grabbed another tissue to dry her eyes and blow her nose, tossing it to a small garbage bin that was already overrun with them.

It was then that her phone went off. Again. He'd waited a while this time. She sighed and dug it out from under the blankets. Without even reading what he'd sent, she texted back.

 _Helga:_ WHAT

 _Arnold:_ Can we talk?

 _Helga:_ what part of NO doy ou not understand?

 _Arnold:_ Please let me in

 _Helga:_ to late bucko

 _Arnold:_ No I mean please let me inside it's cold out here

Helga did a double take. "Oh, that son of a..." She jumped out of bed and swung her door open, biting her lip as it bumped into the wall a little too loudly for her comfort. She listened for any sign of her stupid family, and satisfied that no one else was up, she fast-walked to the door as quietly as she could. She took a note to chew out her mom over a couple candles she'd left lit on the counter, but more important was the shivering football-headed moron outside.

She went to open the door, but stopped to look at him. Though his eyes were pleading, she couldn't help but indulge her sadistic side and hang up the "closed" sign that they never bothered to use anymore. Arnold rolled his eyes and sighed, his breath a white cloud of mist in the cold winter air.

"Please," she heard him say. To demonstrate how dumb he was, she tried to open the door, only to point out to him that the front doors were locked.

"Go around back," she said as she made a circular gesture, hoping he'd understood. Clearly he was none too pleased about it, but he didn't waste time. Helga then went back through the Emporium and down the hallway where her room was, opening the back door for him to come inside.

Arnold kept on shivering as he sat on the floor of Helga's room, as close to her space heater as he could get. Helga joined him on the floor and leaned back against her bed.

"Okay, first of all, what the _hell_ are you doing here? Do you know what time it is!?"

Arnold winced. "I know, but... I needed to see you."

Helga smacked her forehead. "Arnold, stop and think for a second just how much freaking trouble I'll be in if my parents catch you in here. I'll be a withered old troll woman next time you see me!"

"I can't help it!" Arnold said as he pulled his hat off, letting his golden locks go wild. "Helga, I need to explain to you what happened. I can't let you go on thinking that-"

"What? That you and Daisy trot around town behind my back, go on little dates where you're always hugging and holding hands and being disgustingly cute together?" Helga crossed her arms with a huff, looking away from him and sniffling quietly.

Arnold paused as he realized he didn't have as much to refute that as he thought he did. "I... I didn't mean it the way it looked, Helga..."

"Do you actually think it matters, Arnold!?" she snapped back at him. "If some idiot gets drunk and almost coasts into an intersection, does it matter if she _didn't mean to_ fall asleep at the wheel? Because that's what _you_ just did. You fell asleep at the wheel."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Arnold asked as he leaned toward her. "You can't just bottle it up until you explode. I would have understood, and none of this would have happened..."

Helga blinked a little and looked away once more, wrapping her arms around herself. "Okay, so I guess I still have problems opening up to you... But you can't just walk around blindly doing whatever, just hanging out with any girl who's nice to you all willy nilly, and then 'oops, I hurt Helga's feelings, oh well, I didn't mean it!' For goodness sake, do you _need_ to have your head in the clouds all the freaking time? Read the room once in a while. You should have noticed..." Helga sniffled once more and closed her eyes, trying to force herself not to cry in front of him. It wasn't working. "Besides, you still never read my poems... That was a _huge_ deal for me to give those to you, and you just...forgot they were there..."

Arnold's heart sank deep into his stomach as she bowed her head and cried, turning her head and hiding her face with her hand. He started to crawl over to her, but she held up her hand to stop him.

"Just... Leave me alone... I can't d-deal with you right now..."

Arnold stopped and stared at her in this state, unsure of what to say or what to do. A tear rolled down his cheek as he asked her, "Does this mean... Are we...?"

Helga sighed. "Just go, okay?

Arnold gulped and whispered, "But I need you..."

Helga didn't respond. She simply curled up tighter and kept her face hidden from him, trying not to make too much noise as she cried. She sat there in the silence between them for a minute or two, not able to say anything else. Finally she swallowed hard and caught her breath, and said to him, "I need you too..."

But when she looked up to see him, he was already gone. Gone home, where the cold outside couldn't compare to the coldness he was feeling on the inside.

Helga shook her head and started to lie down there on the floor, pulling the blankets down from her bed, but she needed one thing first. Stretching her arm out toward the night stand beside her bed, she carefully grabbed her locket and pulled it close, curling up in her blankets as she held it tightly against her heart.

It took her a while to finally fall asleep. Before she drifted off, she whispered only two words: "Oh, Arnold..."


	33. Just Breathe

**Hearts of Gold**

33\. Just Breathe

Arnold was furious. The entire walk to Gerald's house, all he could think about was how broken his Helga was. He knew he wasn't blameless, of course. He also knew that he hadn't intended to hurt her. He hadn't intended to hurt anybody. Gerald could not say the same. Gerald knew that what he was doing would hurt him, and it would hurt Helga, and it would hurt Daisy, and it would even hurt Phoebe. His own girlfriend. Gerald knew this, and he did it anyway.

Arnold simply couldn't believe how low he had sunken. And for what? If Gerald needed him so badly, why didn't he say anything? Arnold wondered, since when did he become so unapproachable? Why did everyone assume he was a mind reader? It wasn't fair. Maybe he hadn't been the best listener recently, and maybe he hadn't noticed the signs that they were unhappy, but so much could have been avoided if everyone was just honest with him from the beginning. At least Helga didn't use his naivety as an excuse to turn everyone against each other in some horrible scheme.

Gerald only made a bad situation worse, and for that, Arnold had a score to settle.

As he walked that all too familiar path, he tried to think of something clever he could say. Would he call him out right away? Would he be sneaky about it? Would he try to get Gerald to admit what he'd done on his own? Arnold wasn't sure. He figured he'd just improvise.

He imagined several different scenarios that could play out, their argument taking place in his head over and over, but one question hung in the air for him: would they even remain friends after this? Could they? Arnold wondered if Gerald even wanted to be his friend anymore. For a moment, his anger gave way to sadness. He and Gerald were friends for as long as he could remember. Was that all about to end?

That's when he remembered Helga. He remembered that their relationship was in jeopardy too, and they might have avoided that if Gerald hadn't pushed her over the edge.

With the fire in his belly returning to him, Arnold finally reached the Johanssen house and walked up the steps, knocking just a little too hard. There was a palpable tension in the air as the door opened and he was greeted by Martin Johanssen, and Arnold was surprised by the sight. Gerald's dad didn't always have those bags under his eyes, or that slumped posture. He looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"Hey, Arnold. Something I can help you with...?"

Arnold gulped, taking in the reality of the situation. Here he was, face to face with Gerald's dad. No turning back now. "Hello, Mr. Johanssen. Actually, I was looking for Gerald. We, uh... There's something we gotta talk about. It's kind of important..."

Martin nodded slowly, wiping his face as he took a little longer than usual to come up with a response. "Well, Arnold, I'm afraid Gerald's not available right now. He's grounded for the weekend, and he's not allowed to have friends over. Or use his phone, either."

"Oh..." Arnold's head hung low as he let out a big sigh, deflating like an old balloon. "I hope it's okay to ask, but... How come?"

Martin swallowed hard. "I appreciate you trying to be polite, but... All I can say is, things have been rough around here lately, and he's not taking it well. Disrespects me, disrespects his mother, and it rubs off on Timberly, too." Martin shook his head and sighed. "I guess he feels the need to lash out. You know, It's too bad you haven't been around so much lately. I know you're a good influence on him, maybe you can talk some sense into him tomorrow at school."

Arnold simply nodded along, trying to hide that sinking feeling inside. "I'll try... Thank you, Mr. Johanssen..."

"You're welcome. Take care, Arnold."

The door closed behind him as he turned to walk back home. Just how bad were things with Gerald's parents, he wondered? What Gerald did was wrong, that much he knew, but now he had to wonder if this situation was bigger than he previously thought.

* * *

Arnold felt numb as he walked into the boarding house and stopped by the kitchen to grab a Yahoo. His mom, his dad, and his grandparents sat at the table, and it seemed he'd interrupted a serious conversation. Of course his grandfather welcomed it.

"Hey there, Short Man! Boy, your face is looking awful red. Been outside all day with your little friends, have ya?"

"No, I just went for a walk to Gerald's house. But he's grounded, so..." Arnold shrugged.

"You be careful, Arnold. You can get sick, running around town in this cold," his mother chimed in.

"I'll be okay." Arnold remembered his conversation with his grandfather the night before, and looked around the table. "Are you guys kicking them out today?"

The air seemed to sour as a gloom fell over everyone at the table. "I'm afraid so, kid," his father said quietly. "We really don't want to, it's just... It'd be one thing if they kept their problems to themselves, but with all the noise and the drama, it affects everyone else. Not to mention Oskar's not so good with money, and I don't like how he acts around your mother."

Stella rolled her eyes at the thought of that. "I could stop _that_ real quick, just one swift kick to the-"

"ANYWAY," Miles coughed, "It has to be done."

"I understand," Arnold said with a little nod. "I'm gonna head up to my room for a while. I think I'm starting to get a little headache, so I just want to be alone where it's nice and quiet."

"Alright then. See you around, Arnold," his grandpa said in a slightly worried tone.

Arnold didn't say another word as he left the kitchen and dragged himself upstairs. When he reached the hallway, he didn't expect to see Suzie sitting on the floor outside her room, holding her knees up to her chest. "Hey, Arnold."

"Um... Hello, Mrs. Kokoshka. Is everything okay?"

Suzie shrugged and gave him a sad smile. "For now... We're going to get our seven-day notice today."

"You know...?"

"Yep. I'm just...trying to think of somewhere we can go. I still have a couple calls to make, but for now, just... I felt like sitting out here, I guess."

Arnold sat down against the opposite wall. "Let me talk to my parents. I can probably convince them to give you guys another chance."

Suzie shook her head. "No, this has been a long time coming. And don't you go blaming your parents for this, they're good people. This is our fault, Arnold." She stared off into the distance for a moment as she continued, "I've been trying, it's just, it's so hard you know? My psychiatrist hasn't been taking any appointments for weeks, ever since he slipped on the ice and broke his leg outside Budnick's, and that stupid pill they gave me turns me into a damn zombie, so I need to find an alternative. Only I can't, because my psychiatrist is unavailable! And Oskar, he just..."

Arnold nodded slowly, taking this all in. He never knew Suzie was seeing a psychiatrist, or taking any kind of medication. "He won't change, will he?"

"Exactly!" Suzie laughed sardonically, wiping her eyes. "He steals from me constantly. He's a total pig, and he won't clean up after himself. Oh no, that's _my_ job. He expects me to do everything for him, and what do I get in return from that lazy son of a bi-...jerk? Nothing! I get nothing in return from him. His stupid friends get more out of him than I do!" She held her head in her hands and took a deep breath to try and compose herself. "You know what the worst thing is, Arnold?"

Arnold shook his head, not sure what to really say to all this.

"I don't know if you'll really understand this, you're still young, but... I don't really _feel_ loved by him anymore. I have to fight tooth and nail just to get any affection from him, and usually his idea of affection is...well, gross. I try to talk to him, and he doesn't listen. I can be sitting right next to him, crying my eyes out, and he won't even notice."

"Wow," Arnold said quietly. "I never really knew it was that bad. I guess I understand now, why you get so angry at him..."

"The thing is, I don't mean to get so angry. It's just, that's all he responds to. What else am I supposed to do? If I'm not yelling and throwing things at him, he doesn't even notice me..."

Arnold felt like throwing up as those familiar words echoed in his mind. He swallowed hard, hoping to fill the emptiness inside with something, anything, just so he wouldn't feel like he was going to float away on a gentle breeze.

"Your mom told me that if I decide to leave him, I'm more than welcome to stay. It's funny, your family is more accepting than my family sometimes... I just don't know if I can give up on my marriage like that. I've been with him for so long... As sick of him as I am, I don't really know how to be on my own. When I met him I was still living with my sister, and before that my Aunt Louise, and... I know I'm not the easiest person to live with, I have my own problems, it's just... I know this is a lot to ask you, but you seem pretty wise for your age, the way you're always helping everyone, so... Am I crazy?"

Arnold had to agree, it was a lot to ask him. Still, the words started coming to him more quickly than he thought they would. "I don't think you're crazy, but... Honestly, I think you should dump him."

"Really...?"

Arnold nodded. "I don't know if Oskar can change, maybe he can, maybe he can't, but... You deserve to be with someone who makes you happy. I think Oskar does love you somewhere inside, but... He just lost sight of what he had, and... He didn't think about how his actions would affect you... Maybe he used to be great, but now he's just...a terrible boyfriend..."

Suzie tilted her head to one side. "You mean husband..."

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Husband..."

Suzie nodded slowly and took a deep breath before standing up. "Thanks for the honesty, Arnold. I think... I should go down and talk to your family about this..."

"You're welcome, Mrs. Kokoshka." Arnold stood up as well, and as Suzie turned to go downstairs, Arnold went up to his room and straight to his bed, setting his unopened Yahoo on the floor.

He reached into his shirt and pulled out his locket, opening it to look at Helga's picture and remind himself how happy he once made her. Seeing her smile brought tears to his eyes, and he closed the locket and held it against his chest for a moment. He then pulled out his phone to text her something he just had to say: "I love you, Helga."

Knowing she wouldn't text him back, he put his phone away and got up to grab a box near his desk and pull it over by his bed. He pulled out a volume as he lay back down and started to read, scanning the pages with blurry, tear-filled eyes. He could almost hear Helga's voice as he read...

"Cowlicks, like fields of yellow corn..."

* * *

The skies on Monday were grey, and the air was thick with white fog, and Gerald was already in a foul mood. The last couple days were bad enough to begin with, the way things were going with his parents, but just when he thought he was getting used to Arnold's crap, he got a nasty little voicemail from him. Apparently he did something to make Daisy and Helga both upset, and he pissed off Arnold in the process. Enough that Arnold actually stopped by yesterday to confront him about it. Even though he wasn't even at that stupid party.

To make matters worse, Phoebe was acting very strange. The whole weekend, she was keeping her texts really short, and she wouldn't talk about whatever it was that went down. He kept asking her to just talk to him about it, but she just suggested they wait until everybody can meet in one place and talk it out together.

What the heck was that supposed to mean, anyway? Talk _what_ out, he wondered?

As he got his books and walked into Mr. Frank's classroom, his frustration made him angry, and his confusion made him angrier. He could tell something was going on, but he hadn't the slightest idea what it was, or how he was supposedly involved.

One by one he watched as everyone else came in. Helga was the first arrival, and she looked miserable. Her eyes were red and baggy, her hair was a mess, and he had a sense that she probably slept in those clothes the night before. Gerald was surprised to see her shove Sid out of the way to get to her seat, and he was surprised that this surprised him. He was so used to her making progress that the return of the older Helga was actually unexpected. She didn't look at him as she sat down, but she wasn't really looking at anything, really. She just seemed to stare off into space, lost in her miserable thoughts.

Daisy walked in next, and she too was a sorry sight. Her eyelids were low, and she walked with a bit of a hunch, holding her books close to her chest with both arms wrapped around herself. For a moment he could have swore she saw him watching her, just the briefest glance, only to wince and resume her low, forward gaze. She walked past her own desk and asked Park if he'd mind trading seats with her for the day, since his seat was all the way in the back of the room.

As Gerald pondered what could possibly have made them both so depressed, Phoebe arrived and took her seat. At the very least, she made eye contact with him, but the sad look in her eyes gave him pause. With a glance at the clock to make sure he had enough time, he had to ask one more time. Deciding that it was too risky to talk out loud, he pulled out his phone and shot her a quick text message.

 _Gerald:_ can we talk about this now? everyone is so down today, and everyone is acting like its my fault, and I dont even know what i did!

 _Gerald:_ hello?

 _Phoebe:_ We need to talk about it together. Hopefully at lunch.

Gerald wasn't pleased to be left out of whatever "it" was that left all his friends a wreck that wouldn't talk to him, but when he finally saw Arnold walk in giving him a steely-eyed death glare, enough was enough. He stood up from his desk and faced him, and for a moment the two boys were the only ones in the classroom standing up. The tension was thick, and it looked like they were about to face off spaghetti western style. Before either of them could say a word, in came Mr. Frank.

"Alright, you two, enough horsing around," he said to the two boys who were standing completely still and not making any noise. "Have a seat so we can begin today's lesson. You can engage in a cathartic cacophony of violent confrontation during lunch, but for now let's talk about _Moby Dick_ and the significance of all that boring, old-timey nautical jargon. Please take notes so I can remember what I said."

The boys sat back in their seats for now, and Arnold was the first to break their battle of the crazy stare. It was then Gerald noticed a complete shift in Arnold's expression, for he had turned his attention to Helga. It was a pleading, sorrowful glance. He reached over as if to touch her shoulder, only to pull back with a sigh.

Gerald wasn't quite sure what had happened, but whatever it was, it seemed Helga was giving him the cold shoulder as much as he'd been giving everyone else. He was glad to see Arnold get a taste of karma, but that still left the mystery of just what happened at Daisy's house and why he, of all people, was being blamed for it.

* * *

Arnold winced as he sat at the lunch table and watched Helga shove her way through the line. It had been some time since she'd done that, and he hated to see it now more than ever before. The guilt inside only increased as he wondered just how much he was to blame for all her past behavior. Still, he hoped to see her join him at their usual spot. She did start to walk toward another table, but then paused to reconsider. Arnold sat up straight and still as his heartbeat quickened in his chest. His hope grew when Phoebe approached her, and he knew that she was trying to talk her into staying with them.

But it was no use. Phoebe sighed as Helga walked away, and she sat with Arnold with her head hanging low. Arnold rolled his eyes and folded his arms on the table, laying his head down against them to hide his face.

"We must be patient, Arnold," Phoebe said quietly. "I am certain she will come around. We simply need to give her some space and let her heal."

Arnold lifted his head up just enough to respond clearly, "Are you sure, Phoebe? Isn't this whole thing because I ignored her? And Gerald, too?" He sat upright once more and held his shaking head in his hands. "I mean, was I really so horrible? You know, maybe I didn't notice that things were wrong, but no one ever took the time to _tell me_ anything either."

Phoebe swallowed hard at that. "I'm sorry, Arnold..." She picked at her food as she spoke, "I wish I could sit with her, but she wants to be alone right now. I can't help but feel like this is my fault..."

Arnold rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat as he realized his error. "No, it's not your fault. I understand why you guys hid those photos from me and Daisy. I just meant, like... Helga didn't tell me how all this was making her feel."

Phoebe swallowed hard. "To be honest, Arnold, you're not without blame here. Perhaps she is wrong about the context of those photos, but they're not doctored, either. You have gotten quite close with Daisy, and knowing what Helga has been through, and is _still_ going through now, you should have known better. Helga feels like you've been denying her the care and affection that you used to give her, and the way you've indulged Daisy's more broadly affectionate tendencies was simply out of line."

Arnold winced to hear all of that, and he nodded. "You're right. I know you're right. I've known it the past couple days. I just... I don't know, I'm sorry, Phoebe. And I'm sorry about what I did to Helga, too. No wonder Gerald barely even spoke to me..."

"Oh, you did not just say that," Gerald said as he slammed his lunch tray down without even taking a seat, surprising both preteens. "It's _you_ who stopped talking to _me!_ Every time I text you, it takes forever to get back. When I call? No answer. Last time I heard a word from you, you were busy throwing around accusations, talking about how we're gonna _settle_ this."

Arnold scowled. "Yeah, well maybe _I will_ settle it for both of us."

Gerald rolled his eyes. "Please. You're too busy chasing girls around."

"What!?" Arnold stood up as well, now. "That's not true and you know it! What the heck is it with you anyway!? What did Helga do to deserve any of this!?"

Phoebe's eyes widened as she realized what was about to happen. She quickly got up and left to get Helga, and sure enough other kids were already turning their heads and starting to get up from their seats, ready to crowd around the day's spectacle.

Meanwhile Gerald crossed his arms and replied, "Helga? What makes you think I'm mad at her!? I thought we were starting to get along!"

"If that's true, why'd you take all those pictures just to mess with her!?" Arnold yelled. "That was really messed up what you did!"

"What I did!? Why don't you tell me what I did!? No one else will! Or do I have to put on a pretty dress and do my hair to get your attention!?" Arnold gasped at Gerald's latest barb, but Gerald wasn't finished. "You know, I thought I could count on you, man. All these years you've been going around helping everybody who ever needed it, and now when I need you the most, what do you do? You toss me to the curb!"

Arnold scoffed. "I didn't toss you to any curb, Gerald! I swear I didn't realize things were that bad! You should have just told me instead of acting like I'm some kind of mind reader!"

"I just don't get it, man! What kind of guy can't tell when his best bud needs him? When did you stop caring about the people closest to you, and start leaving us all behind? I guess it just runs in the fam-..."

Gerald realized what he was about to say and stopped before he could finish, but it was too late. "What did you just say?" Arnold said as he balled his hands into fists.

"I take it back, man," Gerald stammered as he shook his head and held up his hands. "I'm sorry, I... I take it back..."

"No, finish what you were saying!" Arnold shouted as he got into Gerald's face.

"I said I take it back!" Gerald shouted in return.

Arnold leaned back, raising his fist, and thrust it straight for Gerald's face, but before it could land, his punch was grabbed out of the air and yanked aside. "STOP IT!" Helga shouted. "BOTH OF YOU!"

Dragging him by the arm, Helga pulled Arnold away from Gerald and didn't let him go until she stood between them. "CRIMINY! I don't freaking CARE about the pictures, Football Head! And I'm not mad at Gerald for taking them!"

Gerald did a double-take. "Wha...? I... I didn't even take any pictures! What even...!?"

Helga looked back at him then. "I just got done telling him I don't care, Geraldo, so don't even start playing dumb with me or I'll rip _both_ your arms off!"

Arnold rubbed his shoulder and leaned to the side to try and yell at Gerald some more over Helga's shoulder, but something else caught his eye behind him, and he shrank in horror as he realized how badly they had all screwed up.

"Alright, break it up! Everyone, back to your seats!" Principal Wartz yelled, causing the audience of their peers to disperse. The only ones left standing were Phoebe and Daisy, watching from a distance in shock. "What is the meaning of this!? Am I to understand that a fight just took place here!?" the burly older man snarled. "I demand an explanation!"

The three sixth-graders exchanged looks, not sure what to say or who should say it.

* * *

Arnold, Helga, and Gerald sat scowling in an otherwise empty classroom with their arms crossed, none of them willing to acknowledge each other. It was like this for the first ten minutes or so, until Arnold finally broke the silence.

"I can't believe we got detention for a week."

"I can't believe _you_ got _us_ detention for a week," Gerald snarled.

"Hey, I didn't start it!" Arnold growled.

"Looked like you were ready to finish it."

"Will you two pipe down already?" Helga interjected. "Criminy, this is detention, not Jerry Springer. Be quiet, would you? Sheesh..."

Gerald rolled his eyes. "I mean, it's not like Mr. Frank can hear us." It was true. Mr. Frank was supposed to be watching them, making sure they don't use their detention as an excuse to chat or play with their phones or anything that would make their punishment less of a chore. The problem was that Mr. Frank considered it even more of a chore than they did, so there he sat watching old episodes of _Bigfoot Cop: Special Cryptids Unit_ on his laptop with a huge set of noise-canceling headphones on.

"That's true," Helga conceded. She then grumbled, "He probably wouldn't care if he _could_ hear us..."

Arnold chuckled quietly. Reminded of more peaceful times, his heart ached for the pain he'd caused them both, longing for that pain to heal so things could be back to normal. Especially for Helga, who had spent so much of her life in pain already. "Helga..."

She remained still, her head propped up on her arm, ignoring him to the point that she refused to even look at him.

"Helga, please..." Arnold slowly reached over and put his hand over hers. "Please talk to me..."

Hearing those words, Helga was surprised to find more tears well up in her eyes. She thought she had already cried them all away the past couple days. She took in a very deep breath and closed her eyes as if to keep them contained. "What, Arnold? What can I say?"

"Anything..."

Helga closed her eyes even tighter. "I'm going to put this as clearly as I can for you... Arnold, what you did really hurt my feelings. You know how much your love and your attention and your affection all mean to me, and without thinking, you seemed to be giving all of that away to someone else. I know you didn't think it was all that bad at the time, but you don't know how much I hated seeing you go after other girls over the years. Whether you were trying to go after Ruth, or going on dates with Lila... Maybe that was selfish of me, but things are different now, and you can't just... I felt like you forgot about me, and..."

"Please don't cry," Arnold said quietly. "Helga, I'm sorry... I'm so sorry I made you feel that way..."

Helga nodded as she wiped her eyes. "I know... I just need some time, okay? I just need... I can't talk about this anymore. Just leave me alone for now..."

Arnold gulped at that. "Okay... And, if you want to break up with me, I... I understand..." Arnold started to pull his hand away, but Helga stopped him by grabbing onto it.

"I do not want to break up with you. Okay? I just need some time to think about all this, and... When I'm ready to forgive you, I will."

Arnold let out a little sigh of relief and nodded. "Okay..."

"One more thing," Helga said as she opened her eyes to look into his, letting a stray tear fall down. "I love you too..."

It took Arnold a moment to figure out what she meant, until he remembered the text message he sent her the day before."Thank you... And, I love you too... And I'm really, really sorry. I promise, whatever I have to do to make it up to you, I will..."

Helga gave him a sad little smile and let go of his hand so she could fold her arms over her desk and lay her head down. By this point, Gerald was already doing the same thing.

Gerald was annoyed at first, when they started talking. In fact, he was even a little jealous that Arnold was trying so hard to work things out with her when he still hadn't talked to him at all outside of their little shouting match. He hated that he'd have to speak up first, but he knew Arnold wouldn't speak to him at all right now.

"Alright, I got three things to say," Gerald said as he sat up straight. Arnold looked over at him with an exasperated look on his face, but he didn't interrupt him. "First of all, that thing I _almost_ said back in the cafeteria? I apologize for that. Really. I did not mean it, and that's why I stopped myself from saying it all the way. If I _did_ mean it, I would have _deserved_ that knuckle sandwich you almost fed me."

Arnold and Helga both looked at him now, a little curious to see where this was going.

"Second of all, whatever _bullshit_ you think I did? Something about sending some pictures to Helga? I didn't do that. I don't care what you saw, or who told you I was up to that business, but that _was not_ me. So I _do not_ want to hear any more accusations that I did this to Helga, or I did that to Daisy, or whatever. I wasn't even at the party, so I don't know how the heck I even did anything in the first place."

Arnold prepared to speak up then. "If you didn't do anything, then why did your phone num-"

"THIRD of all," Gerald interrupted, "I got no beef with Helga. I was skeptical at first, but she's the only one other than Phoebe who gave a crap what I'm going through right now. And if you changed your mind, Helga? All 'cause someone told you I sent you some pictures of I don't even know what? That's fine. You'll figure out the truth eventually. As for you, Arnold? You don't even care at all, do you?"

"...Gerald, I-"

"The last two days were _the worst_ two days of my whole life, and because of you? And this stupid conspiracy about me? I had _no one_ to talk to. Absolutely _no one_. Even _Phoebe_ wouldn't talk to me. So pardon me if I don't enjoy a little of this karma you got yourself into," he said as he gestured to him and Helga. "Now if you'll excuse me? I'm just gonna put in my earbuds, listen to music, and ride this stupid detention out in peace."

Arnold crossed his arms at that, leaning back in his chair with a sigh. He looked up at the ceiling as he considered Gerald's words. If Gerald wasn't the one who sent those photos, who was?

Helga had keyed into something else, however. The worst two days of his life...? Considering the all-too-familiar problems Gerald was having at home, Helga had an idea what that could have meant, and immediately pulled out her phone to start texting Phoebe.

 _Helga:_ Pheebs we need to talk about Gerald

 _Phoebe:_ Aren't you still in detention? What's wrong with Gerald?

 _Helga:_ I think hes not the one who sent the photos but thats not all

 _Phoebe:_ Oh? Please continue!

 _Helga:_ I think something happened with him and his parents this weekend. Something bad. You need to talk to him asap!

* * *

Phoebe was worried as she knocked on the door. She hoped to see Gerald's mom, since his mom was more likely to allow her to see him. Of course, her primary concern was Gerald himself. She hoped that Helga's theory wasn't true, but from their brief text conversation, Helga seemed too concerned for this to be nothing.

Sure enough, Gerald's mom opened the door. She seemed awfully tired. "Hi, Phoebe. Are you here to see Gerald?"

"Yes, ma'am. Is he okay? There was some drama at school, and... I just need to check on him."

His mom smiled at that. "That's really sweet... He's in his room right now, but I'm sure he'll see you. If anyone else asks, you're here to help with school work. But I wouldn't worry about it too much." She raised an eyebrow then as a thought occurred to her. "Any idea why he got detention for a whole week?"

Phoebe gulped. "Well... He and Arnold got into a big argument at lunch, but the whole thing is just one enormous misunderstanding."

"Hmmm... Alright, then. Come on in, Phoebe."

"Um, thank you Mrs. Johanssen." Phoebe wasn't sure how she felt about being instructed to lie if need be, but she had to focus on the objective at hand, and she walked inside and straight up to Gerald's room. She knocked gently on his door and waited for him to answer, adjusting her glasses as she heard movement on the other side.

"Come in," Gerald groaned with frustration. He expected one of his parents to come in just to scold him some more about starting fights at school, which he didn't even freaking do, but he was surprised to see Phoebe walk in instead. "Phoebe...?"

"Hello, Gerald." She gave him a smile as she walked toward him. Gerald couldn't help but meet her in the middle of the room and give her a big hug.

"What are you doing here, babe? I thought you weren't talking to me now..."

Phoebe winced at that. "I'm sorry, Gerald. I was just hoping we could all talk about it together, but... I know you need me right now."

Gerald nodded and sat down on the floor against the side of his bed. His room wasn't as clean as it usually was. Not that it was a wreck or anything, but he was normally expected to keep his room immaculate. With his bed more hastily made, and some dirty clothes that hadn't found their way quite to his laundry basket, it was still unusual.

Phoebe sat down beside him. "I think before I say anything, I should hear your side first. Let me know how you're feeling, okay?"

Gerald looked down at the floor and shrugged. "I'm feeling like crap right now. I'm still mad at Arnold, but I almost said something pretty rotten to him. And I'm confused about, like... What even happened at that party at Daisy's house? Why does everyone think I did something?"

Phoebe took a deep breath before she explained, "Someone started sending me photos of Arnold and Daisy hanging out by themselves, which looked rather...incriminating. Whoever sent them to me expected me to show them to Helga. We think it was meant to put a wedge between her and Arnold. Which, unfortunately, it...seems to have done..."

"So, wait... Everyone thinks I've been sneaking around, following Arnold and documenting his stupidity?" Gerald laughed bitterly and shook his head. "That's real rich. Why do they think it's me?"

Phoebe closed her eyes. "I basically tracked down the stalker's information, and... The photos have been coming from your phone all along..."

Gerald's eyes widened. His head spun as things became a little clearer, and yet he was only left even more confused. "How could... That... Phoebe, that makes no sense! Why would I do something like that? Number one, I don't have time to stalk him every day. If I did I'd just hang out with him. Although these days I'm more likely to hang out with you... And why send the photos to you if they were meant for Helga, anyway? I got her number, I could have just sent them to her this whole time."

"Exactly," Phoebe agreed. "There's a lot about this that doesn't make sense. This is why I wanted to get everyone talking in the same place, so we could discuss this rationally, but... First Helga flew off the handle at Arnold, and then you two couldn't stop yourselves from arguing during lunch," Phoebe said with a little frustration in her voice, which made Gerald rub the back of his neck as he realize what a fool he made of himself.

He lowered his head and let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry, babe... I just... I've had it pretty rough, and this whole thing couldn't have come at a worse time..."

Phoebe softened at that, touching his hand. "That's actually the main reason I wanted to come see you. What happened this weekend? You told Helga they were the worst two days of your life..."

So that's how Phoebe found out, Gerald thought. He took a mental note to thank Helga some time. He paused for a minute or so, trying to muster up the courage to say what he needed to say.

"Gerald...?"

"...My parents are getting a divorce..."

Phoebe gasped. She worried that something like this would happen, and as Gerald looked up at her with tear-filled eyes, her heart nearly broke for him.

"I don't know what to do, y-you know? I didn't... I didn't h-have anyone to talk to, and like... I didn't even... I-I didn't even do anyth-thing, and I was all alone... I was all alone..."

Gerald hid his face in his hands and started to crumble where he sat. Phoebe immediately wrapped her arms around him and held him close, rubbing his back as he shook and sobbed. "Ssshhh, it's okay, Gerald... You're not alone, okay?" He nodded as she slowly rocked him back and forth, and she took off her glasses and set them aside so she could kiss his cheek and hug him tighter.

"I'm going to talk to Arnold, Helga, and Daisy, and we're going to settle this once and for all, okay? It'll all be over soon, and we'll all be here for you. All of us..." Gerald nodded again, trembling as he tried to control his breathing.

"J-Just don't l-look at me... I don't w-want you to see me l-like this..."

"Just breathe, babe," Phoebe said in a soft, soothing voice. "Iki o suru dake, Anata. Iki o suru dake... Iki o suru dake..."

Gerald could feel the slow, calming rhythm of her breathing and tried to match it, following her instruction, inhaling deeply and letting it out slowly to try and regain control of himself. The sound of her voice, repeating that Japanese phrase over and over like a lullaby, echoed in his mind. At last, he didn't feel so alone.

Phoebe kept him close, stroking the back of his head as she held it against her shoulder, all the while hoping he didn't notice the tears rolling down her face as well. She hated seeing him in so much pain, but beneath her worry and her sadness, a fire started to build. Tomorrow, she was determined to put an end to this dreary saga, and if that meant that she would have to take charge over everyone else, so be it.

All the while, Timberly peered inside with his door cracked open just enough for her to see them. She held her hand over her mouth as four words kept echoing in her mind: _what have I done?_

* * *

 **A/N: What a doozy! Next chapter should bring this arc to a close. I must thank Call Me Nettie for giving me such great feedback on this chapter. It went through quite a few drafts, but I had great help in making sure it was ready for you guys to read.**

 **Hope you enjoy, and please don't forget to review!**


	34. Phoebe's Plan

**Hearts of Gold**

34\. Phoebe's Plan

As soon as Phoebe got home from Gerald's house, and after she had dinner with her parents of course, she began to plan the next day's events. The first thing she did was open her word processor on her computer and design a blank group sign-up sheet, one which looked very official, and leave a note for herself on her phone to go to the school's computer lab before homeroom.

Next, she opened her texting app and wrote up a mass text to be sent out to Helga, Arnold, Gerald, and Daisy.

 _Phoebe:_ Today, all five of us are going to join a study group during class. During lunch, we are going to sit together. I will accept zero complaints. Do not force me to bring back Field Marshall Phoebe. When detention is over, we are all going to meet at Gerald's house. Gerald, I know what you're probably thinking, but don't worry. I have it covered. We are going to end this once and for all.

Satisfied with her message, she saved it as a draft to be sent the following morning. As she went to bed for the night, she pulled up a photo of Gerald on her phone and sighed. "Ai shiteruyo, Gera-chan..." After saying she loved him, she kissed his picture on her screen and put her phone away, closing her eyes so she could focus all her energy on falling asleep, and sleeping well.

* * *

Arnold woke up to the sound of yelling downstairs. Rubbing his eyes and shaking his head, he sat up and blinked a few times, adjusting his eyes as he tried to focus on the voices to determine what was being said, and who was saying it. From what he could gather, it sounded like Oskar was giving his family a hard time about the eviction. He rolled his eyes and grabbed his phone to check the time, but before he could make the number out clearly, his potato clock went off with its standard "Hey Arnold!" alarm. Shrugging, he stopped the alarm and looked back at his phone, his eyes adjusted enough for him to notice he'd gotten a text message from Phoebe.

He rubbed his eyes once more and read over the text, and his tired eyes widened. It was unusual for Phoebe to be so assertive, but he knew that if she was asserting herself like that, it was best not to cross her. He remembered her hall monitor days very well.

After taking a quick shower and getting dressed for the day, Arnold went downstairs and winced as he approached the scene of all the drama, remaining on the staircase along with Ernie and Mr. Hyunh. Sure enough, the source of the conflict was Oskar.

"I am telling you, you owe me thirty days!" Oskar shouted, holding a briefcase in each hand.

"And I'm telling you, Oskar, that if you have damaged property or caused a nuisance, we are within our limits to give you seven days! How many times must I repeat myself!?" Miles said loudly with his arms crossed.

"Do you believe this, old man!? You gonna let him push you around like that!? He only just got here!"

"Now you listen here, you greedy little rodent, my son is not pushing me around! I have given you more than enough chances, and you blew it! All by your rotten self!"

"And you," Oskar directed to Stella while ignoring Phil completely, "Thank you very much for talking Suzie into divorcing me! That's all everybody does around here, talk behind poor Oskar's back and try to ruin his life!"

Miles almost took an aggressive step toward the whiny, obnoxious little man, but Stella stopped him, glaring at Oskar with eyes that could kill. "Let me tell you something, buster, she did that all on her own! It's not her fault you're so lazy, or that you're such a damn pig."

Arnold winced as he watched this whole thing go down in front of him. He noticed Suzie was standing by his mom, holding her hand as his dad and his grandparents stood around her like a protective barrier.

"Well, if you want this lazy pig gone so bad, then I am gone!" Oskar took his bags, opened the front door, and went outside to a waiting taxi. How he was able to pay for it, no one left inside knew or cared. He was gone.

"I thought he found out about the notice a couple days ago," Arnold said as he and the other boarders came down.

"I can't freaking believe it. That little weasel is finally out of our hair," Ernie said as he scratched the top of his head, which of course had very little hair to speak of.

"Is it really true? Is he gone for good this time?" Mr. Hyunh asked excitedly.

"Yes, he's really gone. I guess he's staying with Vic and Morrie for a little while," Phillip said as he crossed his arms. "Can't imagine that'll last very long. Those rats will probably eat each other."

"Did you say _Rick and Morty_?" asked Mr. Hyunh.

"No, he said Vic and Morrie, you knucklehead!" Ernie shouted in response.

They started to bicker, but all Stella had to do was clear her throat and give them an icy glare for them to immediately shut down, leaving them standing silently to the side and looking up through their eyebrows like guilty puppies.

"To answer your question, Arnold," Suzie began after wiping her eyes and taking a breath, "He knew about the notice, but... He didn't expect me to split up with him..."

Arnold's eyes widened. "Are you divorcing him...?"

Suzie smiled and nodded slowly. "It was hard, reaching that decision, but... I had family to support me." She looked around at all the Shortmans, and even Ernie and Mr. Hyunh even though they honestly didn't contribute anything of substance. "Thank you guys. I don't know what I'd do without you..."

"Wow... So, does that mean she can still stay?" Arnold asked his parents curiously.

Miles and Stella gave each other a puzzled look, each wondering why Arnold was invested in this decision. "Yes, she can. However..."

"I talked with my sister yesterday, and I decided to move in with her. I need to embrace change so I can stay committed to my decision. Besides, it'll be easier to get back on my feet and support myself again since she's told me that I don't have to pay rent there. But I'll be back to visit! I didn't realize I mattered so much to everybody," she said with a big smile.

"Well, uh..." Arnold realized what his parents had already noticed, and tried to think of a way to explain his curiosity about this whole situation. A way that didn't involve bringing more painful thoughts to the surface. "I guess I just...tend to think of _everyone_ here like part of one big family..."

"Arnold's right," Stella said with a hand on her shoulder. "You know you're welcome back any time."

"And screw the seven days," Miles said much to his father's approval. "If you need an extra day or two, it's no problem at all."

As everyone started discussing the logistics of her moving out, Arnold snuck into the kitchen to make himself some toast and pour a glass of orange juice. As he sat at the table, he couldn't help but stare at Phoebe's text. Just what did she have planned for them? Were they really about to settle things once and for all, like she said? How could that even be accomplished? Gerald didn't want to listen to anyone. Helga just wanted to be alone. Daisy removed herself from their group completely, choosing to stay away until everything is sorted out. And he himself? No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't seem to say the right thing. No matter how many times he tried to explain his side of the story, or even just apologize, it all went on deaf ears.

Still, he could tell Phoebe was determined, and if anyone could rally the gang together and get everyone to listen, as Gerald's girlfriend, Helga's best friend, and the most level-headed member of their whole group of friends, it was Phoebe.

* * *

Helga was tired. She was tired on the bus to school, and she was tired as she sat at her desk, waiting to see what Phoebe had cooked up for everyone. She played the message through her mind and wondered what disgusting touchy feely stuff they were going to have to do. Then again, maybe it would be good for her. She still had more to say to Arnold, and as the days went by, she felt increasingly guilty about Daisy.

On one hand, she was angry with her. And rightfully so. She and Arnold had crossed serious boundaries. She got way too, well...touchy and feely around him. There was no evidence that they made out or anything, but even the stalker couldn't follow them everywhere, and that question nagged at her. She'd already heard Arnold's side a few times, but she hadn't heard Daisy's side yet.

On the other hand, she had wrecked Daisy's room just after they all finished putting it together. At least, she thought she did. She remembered throwing the little witch doll, but all she could recall after that was just the sound of her screaming at Arnold and how sore her eyes felt as she cried all the way home. As a result of her emotional meltdown, she had ruined Daisy's party. She sensed a kindred spirit in Daisy, seeing a loneliness in her that she'd known herself for a long time, and she could imagine how all that must have felt.

Helga wasn't sure if Phoebe's plans would be enough to bring peace to the whole gang, but at the very least, she would be have the opportunity to talk to Daisy and straighten things out with her.

As for Gerald, she already had a feeling she'd need to apologize to him. She knew that all she had was his word so far, but something about how he reacted to Arnold's accusations told her that everyone may actually be wrong about him after all. Frankly, when Phoebe told her that he was the stalker, it barely registered. Her mind was preoccupied with someone else.

Arnold.

Just the thought of his name gave her a little chill. She couldn't bear the thought of seeing him break down again, but the nagging voice of doubt had not yet left her.

Thankfully Phoebe finally appeared in the classroom carrying a little stack of papers. Helga raised an eyebrow as Phoebe seemed to leave them on Mr. Frank's desk among the other work sheets and notes and so on. Phoebe looked at Helga with a curious little smirk on her face and winked at her before...disappearing back into the hallway? What the heck was she doing?

Helga watched the clock, anxious for Phoebe's return. Phoebe was never late. If she had everything she needed, why would she purposely be late? Mr. Frank arrived to their room and Helga's anxiety only grew. Sure enough, moments before the bell, Phoebe returned. Only instead of walking to her desk, she walked up to their perpetually bored, cynical teacher.

Phoebe had rehearsed this a few times in her head, and now was the moment of truth. "Hello, Mr. Frank," she said quietly so the rest of class wouldn't hear her. "Forgive me for my _slight_ tardiness, but I found myself staying up late last night to watch the new season of _Bigfoot Cop_ on Netflix."

"It's alright, you made it before the bell and wait a minute what was that? I thought the new season wouldn't be released on Netflix for a few more days..."

"Oh, I use a VPN to watch it on the Canadian version. They got it a little earlier than we did. Anyhow, I was thinking... We don't get enough time during class to really work _together_ on our studies. Would it be at all possible for us to work in large groups of, I don't know, four or five per group?"

Mr. Frank saw exactly the opportunity that Phoebe wanted him to see, and he looked around his desk for the necessary paperwork. "Aha! I've got the sign-up sheets right here!" he said as he produced the stack of papers that Phoebe had placed there herself a couple minutes ago. "Wait here and I'll have you hand them out..."

Phoebe stood at the front of the class as Mr. Frank got everyone's attention and announced that for the day, everyone had to move their desks around and get into study groups of about four or five.

Helga couldn't believe what Phoebe had just pulled off. In fact, she was quite impressed. She was even more impressed when Phoebe handed her a sheet from the bottom which already had the names of her and Phoebe written on them, along with Arnold, Gerald, and Daisy. They were each handed the same sheet that Helga had, and once the study groups were set in place, it was time to get into groups. The classroom was suddenly filled with what sounded like whales moaning and groaning out across the ocean as everyone dragged their desks along the hard tile floor.

With the whole class wondering what the heck they were supposed to be studying anyway, the gang looked to Phoebe. She wasted no time.

"We are not going to be studying our schoolwork today. Partially because we are all being dragged down emotionally by the current situation, and partially because Mr. Frank is so lazy and so excited about fictitious, giant hairy policemen that he forgot to assign us anything. What we are going to do is take out our notebooks and write."

"Wait," Helga said in disbelief. "You, Phoebe freaking Heyerdahl, are telling us _not_ to study our actual school work? In the middle of class?"

"It is unfortunate, but necessary," Phoebe said with a shrug. "I want us all to start working our problems out as soon as possible."

With that, there was a pause long enough for a very confused Daisy to slowly and awkwardly raise her hand. "Um... What are we supposed to write about?"

Phoebe smiled and adjusted her glasses. "We have all been struggling with each other lately, and there are a lot of feelings at play. Feelings that, left unchecked, have led to conflict. We are going to work to resolve this conflict today by writing our feelings down on paper. If you have something you want to say to someone, write it down. Focus on what you're feeling, and don't make any insults or nasty remarks. This is about us letting each other know what we're going through, so we can understand how to move forward."

Helga stared at her with her head tilted to one side. "Uh, Pheebs? Are you okay? Have you been talking to Dr. Bliss or something?"

"No, Helga. I simply think that writing our feelings down is a more efficient way of expressing them than resorting to violence, or saying things we don't truly mean." Phoebe glanced at both Arnold and Gerald as she said that, and they both gulped audibly.

Arnold rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He wasn't the best at putting his feelings in words to begin with, and considering the enormity of the situation, he doubted his ability to complete the task at hand. "Well, um... I think it's a good idea, Phoebe. But... What are we going to do with this stuff anyway?"

"You'll see. Right now, we all have to write down what's going on inside us. Are you sad about something? Angry about something? Is there something you want to say to someone? Maybe even an apology? That's what this is for. Write down everything you want to say, Arnold. And the same goes to everyone else."

Arnold looked at Helga, then at Gerald, and all of them looked at Daisy, all nervous about what was going to happen once they had finished writing. One question remained on Gerald's mind in particular.

"Hey, babe... Do we really have to sit together at lunch, after this?"

Phoebe's smile never left, but there was a stern look in her eye that he was quite familiar with. "Yes, Gerald. At lunch I want to go over the rest of the plan, and for us to try and find something we can talk about. If we're going to solve all of this and be friends again, we have to start feeling comfortable around each other again."

Phoebe reached over and put her hand on Helga's shoulder, as she could tell Helga was more nervous than everyone else, and still clearly heartbroken over Arnold. Phoebe said reassuringly, "Everything is going to be okay. I promise."

* * *

Lunch was awkward, to say the least. Everyone was thinking about what they'd been writing in their notebooks as soon as they sat down at their usual lunch table. Which took a minute, because Arnold and Gerald didn't want to sit next to each other. Also, Helga wanted to sit next to Phoebe, who sat beside Gerald. Only she wasn't too sure about sitting next to Arnold. The only way to avoid that was if Daisy sat between them, something neither of them wanted.

Once everyone sat down, as comfortable as they could get given their current dynamic, it took a lot of time for someone to say something as they ate. Helga just stared down at her phone. Daisy kept her head low, reading a book she'd brought with her. Gerald listened to music. Arnold just sat in his chair like a pile of clothes and barely picked at his food.

Phoebe had hoped that everyone would be at least try to get along, but despite her efforts to prod everyone into making even the smallest of small talk, most of lunch period went without any real meaningful interaction. However, she was determined not to let the entire period go to waste.

"Ahem," she said sternly as she tapped on her table with her fork to catch everyone's attention. "I'm disappointed that we couldn't at least try to get along a little bit, but we didn't attack anyone either, so that's progress."

Helga rolled her eyes at that and crossed her arms. "I'm too tired to attack anyone," she snarled, much to Arnold and Daisy's discomfort.

"I shouldn't have sat here," Daisy said quietly.

"You're okay," Gerald reassured her. "I think... Phoebe's got the right idea. We should be trying more." He then turned to his girlfriend and continued, "It's just...not easy for us right now."

Phoebe touched his hand at that and nodded, "I know. And... I'm sorry, Gera-chan, but for this plan to work, I need you to ask your dad, not your mom, if you can have us over when you get home."

Gerald's eyes widened and he did a double-take. "What!? Ask my dad if I can have everyone over!? I might be able to get my mom's permission, but my dad? No way!"

Phoebe took a deep breath. "Gerald, please trust me on this. If you ask him, it will show him that you respect him, and I promise you he'll say yes. Especially if it's for school work."

"But it's not for-...wait..." Gerald paused as Phoebe held up her copy of the group sign-up sheet with everyone's name on it. "Dang, girl..."

"You're a bold kid, Phoebe," Arnold chimed in, his eyes finally looking like they had a little life in them.

"Hey man, that's my thing. Get your own thing," Gerald snapped back at him. Or did he? Arnold wasn't sure at first, so he played it cool.

"Whatever you say, Gerald." Arnold watched with baited breath for a sign that Gerald didn't mean it, that he was just playing around like they used to do. For a moment he thought he caught Gerald trying to stifle the slightest of smiles as he rolled his eyes and looked away. It was enough, and Arnold felt the tension leave him.

"I just hope this works. Asking my dad to have _all_ my friends over, on a school night, after _detention_ , is a pretty big deal..."

"You can do it," Helga chimed in, to Gerald's surprise.

"You think so...?"

Helga nodded. "I know so."

Phoebe couldn't hide the grin that had started to grow. It had taken some time, but her plan was starting to work, right before her eyes. The only odd one out was Daisy, whom everyone seemed to ignore for the moment. The way she kept her head low and avoided any eye contact, it seemed she didn't want the attention anyway. Phoebe could guess why she'd chosen to separate herself, but she knew Daisy would have more to say later in the afternoon.

That, and everyone else would have something to say to her.

* * *

Gerald took a deep breath as he stood outside the classroom where he would once again sit through a long, boring detention with Arnold and Helga. He tapped his foot nervously as he waited for his father to answer the phone. What would he say? How would he say it? It was a big ask, and he knew it. It would have been tough asking his mom, but his dad? Mr. No-Nonsense, No-Fun, and No-Compromise himself? It was crazy. Phoebe was crazy to suggest it. He was crazier to actually do it.

"Son? Isn't this your detention time?" Martin said as he answered.

"Hello to you too, Dad," Gerald grumbled. "It hasn't started yet. I uh, I just wanted to ask you about something..."

There was a pause on the other line as Martin seemed to be caught off guard. "You...wanted to ask me something... Sure, Gerald. What's up?"

"Well..." Gerald swallowed hard, but he didn't wait to find the perfect words. He decided to just say what needed to be said and hope for the best. "Today we got put into study groups, and my group was really hoping they could come to the house after detention."

"Study groups...? So, you want to invite a bunch of your friends over, after _detention_ no less, because you're all in a _study group_ together..."

Gerald closed his eyes and nodded before realizing that doesn't work over the phone. "Yes, sir..."

"And just why does your study group need to meet at our house?" Martin asked with a more curious tone than Gerald anticipated. He expected anger and disbelief.

"Well... I mean, if they come to our house, then at least you know we're not at the arcade or the movies or something. You can..." Gerald couldn't believe he was about to say it. "You can always check up on us if you need to..."

Martin was surprised. The way Gerald was acting out so much and being generally disrespectful lately, he didn't expect something like this. Usually if Gerald wanted something, he went to his mother first, and she'd fight his battles for him. This kind of maturity and respect was new, and he didn't know how to respond at first.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that with all the tension and all that was going on around him, it might be good for the boy whether it really is for school or just some scheme to allow him some hangout time. Of course he preferred the former.

"Dad...?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, um... Hm. I suppose that would be okay. But you'll have to fend for yourself and your friends for dinner, and they better leave at an appropriate time. After all, it's a school night."

"Arnold already said he'd pay for pizza," Gerald said just as Arnold and Helga appeared in the hallway close enough to hear him. Arnold wasn't amused.

"That's good. See you when you get home, son. And remember, no misbehaving during detention."

"I know, I know," Gerald sighed. "Bye, Dad."

"Goodbye, Gerald."

Gerald hung up the call and walked into the classroom without addressing Arnold and Helga. When he got to his desk, he leaned back in his chair and groaned, hating just how awkward and nerve-wracking that conversation was. He couldn't believe that Phoebe was actually right. He was just glad he didn't bet on it.

"Your dad said yes," Helga said as she sat down next to him. "We're really doing this, huh?"

Gerald closed his eyes. "Yup."

Arnold stopped in the doorway and sighed. "Guys, if Mr. Frank gets here, just tell him I'm in the bathroom real quick." Arnold walked off, and for a moment Helga and Gerald could have swore they heard him grumbling something about raspberries.

The remaining pair sat in silence for a moment. Gerald had almost started listening to his favorite playlist when Helga spoke up. "Hey, I just... I gotta say something."

Gerald sighed and closed his eyes. "Then say something."

"God, boys are just... I wanted to say, I believe you. Happy now?"

Gerald smiled a little and nodded. "Yeah, I had a feeling..."

Helga didn't take long to figure it out. "She told you, huh? That I tipped her off yesterday."

"Yeah..." Gerald adjusted to face her. "Look, I know you got your own thing, and you have every right to be pissed with him too, but... If you do talk to him, please try to talk some sense into the boy."

"I was hoping you would," Helga said quietly. "We'll air it all out later. Let's just...try to get through this stupid detention as peacefully as we can."

Gerald nodded slowly. For all his anger at Arnold for ditching him and ignoring him, he hadn't realized that Helga was in a similar kind of pain. Suddenly he felt guilty for not being the one to point that out to him. After all, they were best friends, and as much as Arnold was known for being some wise old sage in a kid's body, the truth was that they advised each other. Until recently, that is.

Arnold walked back in before anything else could be said, and Mr. Frank was right behind him. As everyone settled in for another boring slog of nothing, Helga waited for Gerald and Mr. Frank to both have their respective headphones on. Once that was the case, Helga looked over at Arnold.

"Hey, Arnold."

Arnold glanced at her, though he wasn't hopeful. "Yes, Helga?"

"This thing with you and Gerald? You two had better fix it."

"Huh...?"

"I mean it, bucko. You two need to stop being idiots and get over this dumb fight. Gerald's not the stalker, and he's going through some really bad shit right now, so get over yourself and be his freaking friend again."

Arnold stared at her in stunned silence before nodding slowly. "That's...what I plan on doing..."

"Good. And no, I'm not ready to talk about us right now. We're doing all that later, got it?"

He nodded quickly then, and he couldn't help but give her a little smirk. "Yes, ma'am."

"That's more like it."

Helga folded her arms and laid her head against them on her desk, facing away from Arnold. She hadn't spoken to him like that in a while, she realized. It quickly dawned on her that she was more nervous than she thought. Could she really say everything she needed to say?

More importantly, how would Arnold feel? Despite everything he'd done, and all her pain, she still didn't want to hurt him. Her old lust for revenge was gone, and in its place was the fear that if she opened up to him again, their relationship could only get worse. She feared that they might even end up like Gerald's parents. Or worse yet, her own. Unless they didn't even last that long, that is. Would he lose his patience and break up with her? Would he even start dating Daisy? Time would tell.

Meanwhile, Arnold was just as worried. He couldn't stop thinking about Oskar and Suzie. He knew Oskar wasn't all bad, but he was bad enough that in the end, Suzie was right to leave him. Was he going to lose Helga the same way, he wondered? Would he turn out just as bad as Oskar? No, that thought is irrational. Still, he had never been more afraid of himself than when he was asked to bear his soul and put it all down in writing. Would they still be together when it was all over?

Regardless of their fears, there was no more running from them. Tonight was the night. For the first time in their lives, detention couldn't last long enough.


	35. Confession

**Hearts of Gold**

35\. Confession

The pieces were nearly in place. Arnold and Helga went home with Gerald, and Phoebe arrived shortly after with Daisy. It was clear to everyone that there was tension in the house, but the Johanssens did their best to hide it and remain hospitable. Arnold begrudgingly paid for pizza to be delivered, and once everything was settled, the five of them went to Gerald's room.

His new room, that is. Feeling guilty for the bomb that they dropped on him, his parents had agreed to let him have his brother's old room, since it was pretty much empty anyway. Not everything had been moved in there yet, of course, but that only gave everyone more space to hang out.

There was just one thing.

"Why can't I hang out with you and your friends? You got pizza and everything!" Timberly whined.

"Because we've got serious business to attend to, Tim..." Gerald tried to go easy on her, though she was already seriously getting on his nerves.

"I just want to sit with you guys and have pizza, that's all," she said pleadingly. Of course, she had a feeling she knew what this business was all about, and she needed to know just how badly she'd screwed things up.

"You can take some pizza with you, but we really need our privacy, okay? You can hang out later if you want to."

Timberly stared at her older brother for a moment and then heaved a loud sigh before walking out. Without any pizza.

"Sorry, guys. She just never leaves me alone is all," Gerald said as he looked around his close circle of friends as they sat on the floor in a literal circle.

Phoebe wouldn't have minded if she stayed, but she suspected that Gerald wasn't comfortable talking about these things around her, so she didn't fight him on it. "It's alright, Gerald. Now..." She looked around at everyone, their notebooks all ready to go. "Would anyone like to volunteer to go first?"

"I'll go," Gerald said right away. "I just want to get this over with..." He opened to the page he'd been writing his thoughts in, and he looked at Arnold as he spoke. "Arnold, lately I've been feeling like you just don't want to be my friend anymore. You used to make time to hang out with me, and now you're always too busy. I get it, you got a girlfriend now. That's fine, I got no beef with Helga. Helga actually understands where I'm coming from. At least, I think she does.

"If it was just hanging out, maybe I wouldn't be so mad, but it's more than that. This past weekend was the worst weekend ever. First thing? I got accused of doing something I didn't do. I guess everyone thought I was some kind of stalker, snapping photos of you and Daisy getting a little too close. Thing is, no one bothered to ask why. Arnold, if I wanted you to be my friend again, why would I try to pit your girl against you? And frankly, I bet you didn't need any help with that. You accomplished that on your own.

"Second thing? Well, no one was talking to me because of that. You left me a pretty lame voicemail. Phoebe at least answered my messages, but she didn't want to talk about anything. I had _nobody_ I could talk to, and you want to know what happened right after I got that message?"

Gerald paused long enough for Arnold to realize he was waiting for a response. Arnold gulped and replied, "What happened...?"

"I got called downstairs, and I sat on the living room couch with my sister, and my parents told me that they were getting a divorce." Gerald's hands shook, and he set his notebook down beside him. "I found out my family is _literally_ falling apart, man, and I had _nobody_ there for me. I couldn't call anybody. I couldn't text anybody. Everyone was... Everyone was too mad at me... All o-over something I d-didn't even do..."

Arnold opened his mouth to say something, but no words came. He just sat there and watched as Gerald's head fell low, and he cried. Phoebe moved closer to him and put her arm around him, whispering something in Japanese into his ear. "Gerald, I... I'm so sorry, man... What can I do? Please, what can I do? You and Helga are so important to me, I..."

Soothed by Phoebe's gentle coaching for him to focus his breathing, Gerald looked up at Arnold, regaining his strength. "Arnold, if we're really so important, why were we put on the back burner so much?" He shook his head and wiped his eyes, letting out a deep sigh. "I just want it the way things were, man. What's so bad about that? You and me, and all of us hanging out the way we used to. You don't understand how bad I _need_ that right now. I tried to be patient, but after this past weekend, enough's enough. So what's it going to be?"

Arnold knew Gerald was right. He didn't mean to put anyone on the back burner, as Gerald put it, but he had. His priorities got all messed up, and he was dealing with the consequences at that very moment. "I want it the way things were too. I'm... I'm sorry, Gerald. I should have been there for you. I promise, if you need anything, I'm here."

Gerald stared into his best friend's eyes, searching for any evidence that he wasn't being genuine right now, that he'd forget all of this and go back to his old ways. Finding none, Gerald leaned across their circle and held his fist out toward him. "It's gonna take a little... Adjustment period, but... Glad to have you back, Bro..."

Arnold leaned forward and met Gerald's fist with his own, and as they wiggled thumbs just like old times, they both felt a weight lifted from their shoulders. "Glad to be back, Gerald. And I mean it, if you need anything, you can count on me from now on. I promise."

Helga watched the whole thing unfold, watched as their handshake broke and they settled back in their seats. She couldn't help but be moved by their display of brotherhood. That's what they basically were, after all. Just as she and Phoebe were basically sisters. She wondered, if Gerald could find it in himself to forgive Arnold, could she?

"Would anyone like to go next?"

"I'll go next," Daisy said as she sat up straight, her legs folded carefully in a yoga style pose. She left her notebook sitting on the floor in front of her and cleared her throat. "So, I just want to make something clear to everybody right away... I am not, nor have I ever been, into Arnold. The way Helga's into him, I mean. Or even the way anyone _else_ might be into him. Gerald mentioned something about how in those photos, we were getting awfully close, but the thing is, I didn't feel that way at all. I thought I was getting closer with _all of you_. If I felt closer to any _one_ person here, honestly? I'd say it was Helga."

Daisy turned to her. "Helga, I told you before, I'm just naturally an affectionate person. It doesn't mean anything. I gave Arnold a hug. I'd give you a hug too if I thought you'd accept one. I'd hug Gerald, I'd hug Phoebe, I just like giving hugs. And when he held my hand? I had to fight him on that one, because I was terrified to go into that dog shelter. If it was you with me, I would have wanted to hold your hand too.

"So, I hope you understand, along with everyone else, that getting all touchy and weird with Arnold, I never, _ever_ meant for it to be taken the way it was. I can't speak for him, but please, I really like you guys, and I hope you all believe me."

Daisy took a deep breath then. "That's the first thing. The second thing is... Well, I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry, Helga. I should have known better. Even if it's just, like...how I am. Even if I am all affectionate and touchy feely and whatever. I know that it's just normal to me, and it's something I'd do with anyone, but that's not an excuse at all. I shouldn't have been that way with him, and I should have thought about how you would feel. I didn't do that, and I totally understand if you hate me forever. I hope you don't, but...if you do, I understand. I want you to know that no matter what happens, I won't ever come between you and Arnold like this ever again.

"Which reminds me," Daisy said as she looked at Arnold. "I'm really sorry that I got you into this mess. I know you felt weird about holding my hand and everything, and I'm guessing you probably felt weird about the other stuff too. I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't mean to hurt anybody. I'm just... I'm completely _mortified_ that this even happened. That I'm responsible for this to begin with..."

Daisy hid her face in her hair, holding her hands over her head. Helga looked at Arnold, then at Phoebe, and then back at Daisy. "I just hope you guys all understand," Daisy continued, "I'm just... Being a little over affectionate is natural to me. It's who I am. I can't help that I'm like this. I hope you guys understand, I'm not used to having friends. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before because I've never really been close to anyone like I am with you guys, and to be real for a moment, I doubt I'm as close to any of you as you clearly are with each other. I'd like to be some day, but I haven't even been here that long. Before meeting you guys, I never even had the _chance_ to send these kinds of mixed signals. Again, I know that's not an excuse for what I did. I was wrong, full stop, and I need to be better in the future. All I ask is that you guys give me a chance to learn how to respect your boundaries, and to be a little patient with me. Instead of just jumping the gun and assuming the worst..."

Arnold was stunned into silence. His face had turned red, and he simply stared down at the floor, feeling guilty. He worried that because of his own naivety and his own ignorance, Daisy could lose the only friends she's ever had.

"Is there anything you'd like to say, Helga?" Phoebe asked.

Helga thought long and hard. "For now, just... I understand what you're saying, Daisy. I understand that you naturally tend to be a little more touchy feely affectionate with friends, I get that. I also believe you that you didn't intend anything wrong. Everything else I need to say, that's... I'm not ready to go next."

Daisy nodded and looked around. "Does anyone else have something they need to say to me?"

Gerald just shrugged. "I figured you didn't mean anything. What I said to Arnold before about chasing tail, that wasn't about you. So I got no beef with you myself. But I do have to stand by Phoebe, however she feels."

"Thank you, Gerald," Phoebe said with a nod. "Daisy, what you did really hurt my best friend. I think I can trust you when it comes to your feelings, but I need to learn to trust you when it comes to your behavior around my friends. It's okay to like giving hugs and being affectionate, but I hope you can be more careful going forward. I still want to be your friend, and I hope you don't give up on us, but Helga is still my best friend and I have to look out for her first."

Daisy nodded slowly and let out a deep breath. "Thank you, Phoebe. I agree with you on all of that, and I'm really glad Helga has someone like you to be there for her."

Helga couldn't help but smile a little at that, glancing over at Phoebe as the two spoke. She knew that no matter what happened, the one person she could always count on was that petite girl with the glasses.

She shrank, however, when Phoebe looked at her and Arnold. Phoebe nearly asked them who wanted to go next, but seeing Helga's nervousness reminded her what she just said to Daisy, that she wasn't ready to go next. Of course, she didn't feel Arnold was ready to go next either, but she had to ask. "Arnold? Would you like to go next? I think everyone here really wants to hear from you."

Arnold took one look at Helga and immediately understood why Phoebe asked him to go first. Helga had her arms wrapped around herself, hunched over with her shoulders up, as if she was expecting to be startled by a loud noise or something. Arnold hated seeing her that way. "Okay, Phoebe. I'll go..."

"When you're ready, Arnold..."

Arnold picked up his notebook and looked over everything he had written down. He'd never written anything quite like this before, and he doubted the words he put down, so he decided to improvise. "First, I just want to say to Gerald one more time, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to ignore you like that, I honestly didn't. I actually thought you were starting to ignore me, but I get it now. You were just fed up with me, so you stopped trying. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed me the most, and I'm sorry I tried to punch you. I know you didn't mean that thing you almost said. I know I didn't mean to hurt you, but I still did, and I hope I can make it up to you."

Gerald nodded as he listened. "We're good, man," he reminded Arnold. "I just need you to listen more, to pay attention to things. It used to be when I was in a bad mood, you could tell, and you'd ask why. You stopped doing that for a while."

"I know," Arnold said with a wince. "I know I did, and I'm really sorry. I swear it wasn't intentional, you know I wouldn't hurt you on purpose. Except when I tried to punch you. Again, I'm sorry for that."

"We're cool," Gerald reminded him once more.

Arnold cleared his throat then and looked at Daisy. "Daisy, I'm sorry I dragged you into this. I don't think you deserve to be blamed for this. You were just being yourself. It was my job to know better. Helga's my girlfriend, I'm supposed to watch out for those boundaries, and I did a bad job."

Arnold swallowed hard and lowered his head as he spoke. "Helga..."

Helga tensed up at the sound of her name.

"Helga, I keep running everything through my mind... I think about how we first met, and all those times you looked out for me without me realizing it. I bet there's still things I don't know about. I also think about the times I hurt your feelings, the times I let you down. And you never gave up on me. No matter how many mistakes I made along the way, how blind I was to everything you did for me, you kept trying. You had so much faith in me...

"I'm so sorry that I let you down again, Helga. I'm sorry I let you down so badly. I love you, Helga, and to know that I hurt you like this? I'm just... I'm beside myself. I can't believe I would do something like this to someone I care about so much. The stupid part is, I _know_ how much trust means to you. I didn't understand before, but I understand now how hard it is for you to open up and be yourself. It took you a long time but you finally did that for me, and what did I do? I ruined it.

"I need you, Helga. To finally see who you really are, only to lose you like this, I can't take it. I want to prove to you that I can be who you want me to be. Please give me another chance. I won't let you down again, I promise."

Helga closed her eyes as he spoke. She had nothing to say. She simply waited for him to stop. Phoebe wasn't sure what to do, looking at poor Arnold who was hoping Helga would save him and then at Helga, who was hoping she was anywhere other than where she was.

"Helga...?"

"Yes, Phoebe..."

"Are you okay?"

Helga paused before responding, "I...don't know..."

The hope in Arnold's eyes dimmed, and he closed them with a slow, gentle sigh.

Phoebe leaned toward Helga and put a hand on her arm. "Take your time, Helga. If you'd like to read yours, you can go ahead. When you're ready."

Helga took a deep breath and sat up straight, wiping her face with her hands. "I'm ready." Helga didn't even touch her notebook as she looked at Daisy. "Daisy, I want to address you first, because...well, it's easier."

Daisy nodded, glancing over at Arnold, who wore a devastating look of defeat.

"First? I'm sorry about your room. I shouldn't have thrown the witch doll into all your stuff. I was just angry. Second? I want to tell you something. Actually..." Helga finally looked at Arnold then. "I want to tell you _both_ something. A little story... You're a perceptive girl. You notice things. Remember how on your first day, during lunch, you learned all about the Cheese Festival?"

"I remember," Daisy said curiously, not sure where Helga was going with it.

"Did you notice I never said anything?"

Daisy's eyes widened a little and she nodded slowly. Arnold glanced up at her, but otherwise he hardly moved. He was still as a stone statue.

"Yeah. I didn't say anything because I freaking _hate_ the Cheese Festival. Which is crazy, right? I love cheese. A whole festival dedicated to it? With rides and games and other fun stuff? I _should_ love it. It should be my favorite festival. You know why I _don't_ love it?"

Daisy swallowed hard, looking at her sadly. "I think I might..."

Helga turned slowly and cast her gaze to Arnold alone now. "Every time you went to that stupid festival, I was there too. Following you, the whole time. Stalking from a distance as you chased after whichever girl caught your eye. Whether you were walking around saying "HI WUTH" over and over like a freaking moron, or gushing over _Liiiila_ , I was there. And every single time, when the night was over, I watched you leave as I stood there all alone, crying as the lights went out."

Arnold closed his eyes tightly as he thought back, remembering how often he thought he'd seen her out of the corner of his eye, but he never paid her any attention. He was too busy with someone else.

"Every year, I hoped that you would ask _me_ to go with you. And that's not all your fault, I know I was a bully and I tormented you all the time. But I never got a chance to be anything else. Not until San Lorenzo. It took me some time to realize that I really did win your heart for real, and Christmas? I was over the moon. And then Daisy came... And...then I saw those pictures...

"You know what they look like, Arnold? They look like pictures _I_ might have taken, if I had my own phone at the time. You look just like you did when you were hanging out with Lila, or following Ruth around. It _killed me_ to see that again. To feel those feelings again. I thought they were all gone, and I wouldn't feel that way anymore, and then I did."

"Helga, it wasn't the same!" Arnold interrupted. "I wasn't feeling any of those things for Daisy, I wasn't even crushing on her like I did them. Why don't you believe me?"

"It-... That doesn't matter, Arnold! You should have known that it would hurt me! That it _did_ hurt me!"

"But you never told me! You keep hiding your feelings from me, not telling me when something is wro-"

"Bullshit, Arnold! How many times did we talk about this exact thing? Every time, your way of reassuring me was just telling me my feelings were for nothing, acting like I'm just being paranoid, but my feelings are _real_ and they come from real pain, pain I've felt for a long time, and you ignored that because you were more worried about making sure Daisy was comfortable than you were about making sure I was _happy_."

"Guys," Gerald spoke up. "Please keep it down. I don't need my dad coming up here wondering why there's so much yelling..."

"Whatever," Helga snarled as tears rolled down her face. "I need you to take my feelings seriously, Arnold. You can't just try and make me feel like I'm being stupid just because I feel scared about losing you."

"I..." Arnold stared into her eyes as those last words echoed in his mind. He remembered the advice his grandfather once gave him, advice he'd been thinking about a lot lately. He didn't need to imagine what it would be like to lose her anymore, because he felt like he was losing her right now. Only now, Arnold has finally realized that the fear of losing him has been on Helga's mind from the moment they first met. "Helga..."

"What, Arnold?" she asked with a much softer tone, seeing all the pain in his eyes as it finally hit him. A pain she felt in her heart at that very same moment. "Tell me, my love..."

"I... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Helga..." Arnold hid his face in his hands for a moment, taking a deep breath to try and compose himself, to keep from breaking down. He sniffled and wiped his eyes and looked to her once more. "I'm sorry..."

Helga nodded. "I know, Arnold... I know you are, and I really hate seeing you like this..."

Arnold gulped and shook his head. "I can't keep doing this... I need you, Helga. Please, I'll do anything... Just please tell me, what do you need me to do? What do you need from me?"

Helga stared into his eyes for what felt like ages. Everyone else was waiting to hear what she would say. Phoebe, Gerald, Daisy, and another listener just outside the door.

"Arnold, I... I just need time, okay? I need more time..."

Arnold winced, shutting his eyes quickly. He nodded slowly as his head hung low, but he smiled sadly as he looked back up at her. "Okay, Helga... If that's what you need, then... I'll wait for you..."

The whole room fell silent and still, as everyone tried to process what had just happened. Phoebe had hoped that this would be an opportunity for them to heal these wounds, but she couldn't help feeling that she had failed somehow. That she somehow managed to overlook just how much pain they were both in, and how that might lead to the explosion of emotions that just took place.

Daisy was feeling more guilty than ever. She finally understood where Helga was coming from, and wanted more than anything to make it up to her somehow.

Gerald was angry at himself. He had to admit to some satisfaction in seeing Arnold squirm before, but this was too much. He moved from his seat to be closer to Arnold and put his hand on his back. Arnold may not have been there for him, but Gerald wasn't going to make that mistake in return. It wasn't about Arnold being there for him anymore. He knew they needed to be there for each other now.

"I CAN'T TAKE IT!"

Everyone's heads shot up as the door burst open and Timberly ran inside. "Timberly? What are you doing!?" Gerald said as he and the others stood up.

"It was me!" she yelled, "I was the stalker! I put a text app on your phone and I sent Phoebe all those pictures!"

"What? Why!? Do you realize what you did!?" Gerald shouted at her. "I could have lost all my friends because of this! Why would you try to sabotage their relationship like that!? And then I got blamed for it!"

"Timberly, what were you thinking? Why would you want to toy with Helga that way?" Phoebe asked in a stern tone, though she was at least quieter than Gerald. He opened his mouth to keep yelling, but Arnold put his hand on his shoulder to remind him not to be so loud.

"I wasn't trying to toy with Helga!" Timberly sobbed. "You were supposed to show Gerald the pictures, not her! Then Gerald would stop spending all his time with Arnold and...and..."

"You wanted him to spend more time with you..." Daisy said quietly.

Timberly sniffled and nodded at the weird girl before looking back at her brother. "You keep acting like you're all alone, but you always had me! And even if you didn't have Arnold, you had Phoebe. You're never alone, Gerald, but you know who's always alone? Me! I'm just a pain in the neck to you, you don't ever want me around! You're sad that no one you called would answer you, but I didn't have anyone to call! Except Jamie-O but he's not here anymore!"

Gerald's anger slowly faded. "Tim..."

"I just want my big brother... Y-You never include me... You leave m-me all alone when M-Mommy and Daddy are f-fighting...You d-don't ever w-want me around... I just want you to l-love me like you love your f-friends..."

Gerald dropped down to his knees and opened his arms, and Timberly ran to his embrace. "I do love you, Timberly. I'm sorry I don't always show it, and I'm sorry for leaving you alone like that..." He looked around at his friends, who stood there not knowing quite what to say.

Phoebe knelt down beside them and touched Timberly's shoulder. "And you know, you can always talk to me when I'm around. Okay?"

Timberly glanced over at her and nodded. "I'm really sorry... I didn't mean to cause all this drama, I swear..."

Gerald took a deep breath."I know, Tim... What you did was wrong, and you'll have to ask them for forgiveness yourself...but... I get why you did what you did..."

"You do...?" Timberly asked as she pulled away from him, wiping her eyes to see him clearly. Gerald nodded and looked at the rest of the gang.

"I think what it all comes down to is, we all do crazy things when we're feeling lonely," Daisy said quietly.

"So, you're not mad at me...?"

"No," Daisy said. "I'm not mad at you. But I think what you did was really hurtful. You can't go around toying with peoples' feelings like that."

Helga chimed in as well. "Parents suck. Older siblings, well... They can be a real pain sometimes, but they really do love you in the end. So no, I'm not mad. At you..."

Arnold winced, but after the emotional beating he'd just taken, he couldn't really sink much lower. "I'm too mad at myself to be mad at anyone else..."

Timberly looked around at them and swallowed hard. "I wouldn't blame you if you were still mad at me. I'm really, really sorry..."

Gerald took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. "Now, you know I can't bring you with me _every_ _time_ I go out with my friends, but... If you promise you'll never, _ever_ pull any sneaky stuff like this ever again, I'll make sure you can hang out with us sometimes."

"Really...?"

"Really. And one more thing... No more playing with my phone for a while. Sound fair?"

Timberly nodded and lowered her head. "That's fair. I'm sorry, Gerald..."

"I know. You're not getting off the hook for this, you know that right? We can't tell mom and dad, they don't need another excuse to start fighting, but you're going to have to pay for this somehow."

Timberly nodded again, wiping her eyes as she looked down at the floor.

"Gerald is right. What you did was really serious, and there should be consequences for that. But we can talk more about this another time, I think," Phoebe suggested. She sat back down on the floor then, looking up at everyone else. "Why don't we call it a night and just finish up this pizza before we head home? We can't just let it go to waste."

"Now there's a pregnant idea," Daisy said as she sat down as well. Everyone stared at her for a moment, wondering what the heck kind of phrase that was. "What? My dad says that a lot..."

With everyone in agreement, the gang sat back down and started to pig out on pizza, even though they were all feeling absolutely miserable. Everyone except for Helga, who remained standing and was clearly rather jittery and anxious about something. Phoebe looked up at her with worry. "Helga? Aren't you hungry?"

"I...I..." Helga looked around the room, looked at Arnold, looked at Daisy, at Timberly, back at Phoebe, "I can't. I'm sorry, I can't do this. I..." Without another word, Helga grabbed her coat, opened the door and quickly made her way to the front door. She slipped into her boots, threw her coat on, and went outside, gasping for air like she'd been holding her breath all this time.

Arnold couldn't sit and let her leave this time. This time he ran after her, putting his boots and his jacket on as he stumbled his way down the stairs and out into the snowy January evening.

Before she could get much distance from him, Arnold ran up to her. "Helga, wait..."

Helga stopped in her tracks and didn't turn around. There was a long pause before either of them spoke. Arnold and Helga stood worlds apart, their hearts broken in two.

"What is it, Arnold...?"

Arnold stared at her for a moment as he caught his breath. "I'll always be yours. No one else's..."

Helga didn't speak. Didn't move. Didn't want him to see the fresh tears in her eyes.

Arnold choked up and said, "Are you still mine...?"

Helga swallowed the lump in her throat. Her soul screamed at her to turn around and reassure him of her love and her faith in him. But she didn't.

"Goodnight, Arnold..."

Uncertain of what the future held for them, Helga walked away and left Arnold standing there alone in the cold. Snowflakes swayed and swirled around him as they fell, dancing against the cool, gentle breeze.


	36. Simple Questions

**Hearts of Gold**

36\. Simple Questions

"You'll never guess what I just found!" Miles exclaimed with excitement as he walked up to Stella carrying an old cardboard box. He set the box down on the table, and Stella rolled her eyes. She was drinking her morning coffee and reading the newspaper at the moment, but whatever it was that riled up that goofy child-man she married, she couldn't help but be curious.

"Your collection of Wanky Land t-shirts?" she asked sarcastically, not looking up from an article about a crowdfunding campaign to restore the Old Circle Theater.

"Well gee, look who woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Miles said playfully. Stella couldn't help but smirk at that and look up at him as she sipped her coffee. "Just kidding," he added quietly.

"You know, I actually _did_ wake up on the wrong side. Kind of. I think I did that thing again, where I slept in a weird position for too long, so I woke up with a bit of a sore shoulder."

Miles nodded slowly, knowing from experience what she was talking about. "Remind me and I'll give you a massage later," he said with a wink.

"Sounds like a plan," she replied with a wink of her own. "So... What's in the box?"

"What's in the box!?" Miles said a little louder, putting on his best "panicky Brad Pitt" impression.

"Miles..."

"Okay, okay, look..." Miles reached in and pulled out several old CDs, mostly classic rock. "It's my old music collection! There's Cheap Trick, and Heart, and look! Journey, greatest hits!"

"Wow," Stella said as she leaned over to look into the box with him. "I bet those were old _before_ we took our big nap. You know we can't play these all the time, right? We just kicked a tenant out for making too much noise."

She had a point. Miles scratched his chin in thought. "I know we can't be _too_ loud, but maybe later on when everyone's in their rooms for the night, we can come down here to the living room, maybe light some candles...? Come on, we'll keep the volume at a nice, reasonable level. Please, it's been too long since we rocked out together... I mean, not that we'll be _rocking out_ exactly, just...you know. It'll be fun, you'll see."

"I guess if we do the whole _responsible adult_ thing and keep it low enough. And you'll let the _singers_ do the singing, right honey?"

Miles grinned and his face turned a little red. "Fiiine, I won't sing..." He kept looking through the CDs as Stella finished her coffee and stood up, kissing his cheek before bringing her mug to the sink. "You know, I can't wait to show these to Arnold." It was then that Miles realized that Arnold hadn't come down yet. "Speaking of which, where is Arnold? Shouldn't he be eating breakfast or getting ready for school? I haven't seen him since yesterday... You know, I have a feeling he hasn't even come out of his room yet."

Stella turned and looked at him. "You know, you're probably right. I'll go up and check on him." She left Miles to look through his old CDs on his own as she went upstairs and down the hall, stopped to say hi to Mr. Hyunh as he went in the opposite direction, and pulled down the stairs to Arnold's room.

"Arnold? You awake up there?" Not hearing a response, Stella walked up and entered his room, finding the lights were off and he was still lying in bed. However, he wasn't asleep. He was lying there on his back, looking up at the clouds above through his freshly cleaned skylight. "Arnold? You're running late today. Are you not feeling well?"

Arnold glanced over at her briefly before sighing and staring upward once more. "No, I'm not," he said quietly.

Stella walked up to him and put the back of her hand against his forehead, then his cheek, but found that his temperature seemed normal. "Well, there's no fever. Do you think you're starting to come down with a cold, or maybe a stomach bug?"

Arnold shook his head. "I'm not sick. I'm just...not feeling good, either..."

Stella raised an eyebrow and sat on the edge of his bed. "Well, if you're not sick, you really should go to school, honey..."

Arnold just stared up at his skylight without responding or even moving, looking quite melancholy in his silence.

"Arnold...?"

"I messed up, Mom... I messed up everything... All my friends hate me, and especially Helga..."

Stella tilted her head then. "Are you sure about that? You guys seem like a very close-knit group."

Arnold sighed. "No, they don't _hate me_ hate me, but honestly? Maybe they should. I mean, I neglected Gerald when he really needed me the most, and I wound up putting Daisy in the middle of a ton of drama which I think everyone blames her, and Helga..." He trailed off and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

Stella nodded slowly and gently ran her fingers through his hair, brushing them softly against his head. "Would you feel better talking about it?"

"I don't think I can," Arnold croaked.

Stella leaned down and gave him a warm, comforting hug. "My poor baby," she whispered. "This is your first broken heart, isn't it?"

Arnold closed his eyes tightly as he hugged her in return. "The worst part is, I'm not even, like... I'm not just sad for myself, I'm sad for her...for what I did..."

Stella nodded, and kissed his forehead before pulling away. "Are you still on good terms with anyone in your class? You're going to need someone's notes to catch up, plus you'll need any homework assignments you might get."

Arnold lay back down and thought for a moment. "Welllll, we _did_ sort of talk things out yesterday evening, and I think things are at least _okay_ right now. I know I can ask Phoebe for that stuff, I don't think she's _too_ mad at me, and she takes the best notes in class."

"You have Phoebe send you today's notes, plus homework, and if you want, your dad and I can help you look them over later. The catch is, tomorrow you gotta get back on your feet and go to school for the day like always. Can't have you missing two days in a row, okay?"

Arnold nodded. "That sounds fair. Thanks, Mom."

"And if you need to talk about anything, you just let us know. You can always talk to me, and you know your dad and your grandparents are always willing to help too."

"Thank you. I just need to be alone right now..."

Stella sighed and playfully ruffled his hair. "You can stay up here if you want, but you're not spending the whole day in bed, mister. I'll see you later, got it?"

"Got it."

Stella leaned down to give him one more quick hug, then got up and walked back downstairs. Once he knew his mom was gone, Arnold reached under his pillow and pulled out his locket, something he'd done over and over again all night long once he got home. He turned onto his side and held it close to his chest, curling into a ball under the covers as he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

It was futile, however, for tears began to fall just as fresh snowflakes began to land against his skylight. As a new sheet of snow began to form above him, the shadows that it cast grew bigger and bigger, casting Arnold even further into darkness.

* * *

Helga may as well have been a lifeless drone as she went to school that day. On the bus she simply rested her head against the cool, frosty window and watched the snow come down on the other side. As she got her books from her locker, she didn't even bother to punch Brainy for standing behind her and breathing all weird. As she walked into homeroom, she was too tired to care about shoving her way to her desk. She fell asleep twice in the middle of class, which Mr. Frank didn't seem to care about. But Phoebe did, and she made sure to wake Helga from her slumber both times.

Helga didn't start to come online for real until lunch. With a simple bag lunch in her hand, she walked into the cafeteria and looked across the room at her table. She stared as she saw Gerald, Phoebe, and Daisy all sitting there together. They didn't look all that great themselves, but she could see that they were making small talk.

With a deep breath, Helga made her way to their table and sat down. She didn't speak to anyone, and she didn't look at anyone. She simply pulled out the contents of her bag and started eating, keeping entirely to herself. The others noticed right away, but no one was sure what to say to her.

Phoebe decided to give it her best shot. "Hello, Helga," she with a sad smile. "Did you try and get some sleep last night like I suggested?"

Helga thought back to the long conversation she had with Phoebe the night before, which was mostly just Helga crying and Phoebe consoling her and telling her it was okay to need more time. "Tried," was all Helga could say.

"Me neither," Gerald said as he picked at his food.

Phoebe sighed. "I suspect Arnold didn't sleep much either. I received a message from him earlier this morning, asking if I would send him a copy of my notes so he could keep up with class."

Daisy glanced up at Helga, who almost seemed to wince as Phoebe talked about Arnold, and she couldn't help but frown and keep her head low. She felt strange, being around them like things were almost back to normal. No, strange wasn't the word. She felt guilty. "Helga?" she asked before gulping nervously, "Would you be more comfortable if I left the table?"

Helga froze in place for a moment. She knew that the polite response was to say she was fine and didn't mind her being there. After all, she did blame Arnold the most for what happened. Still, Daisy wasn't completely innocent. But she also knew that giving in to her older ways meant telling her to beat it. Instead she said what felt the most truthful at the moment: "No, Daisy. I would not be more comfortable if you left the table."

Daisy nodded slowly. "I just want to make sure, like... I'm just trying to be considerate, that's all. Think about your feelings..."

Helga didn't say anything else. She just kept eating her lunch like she was the only one there.

Phoebe glanced over at Daisy, then back to her best friend. "Helga, if you-"

"WHAT!?" Helga shouted, causing the entire cafeteria to jump and spin around to look in her direction.

Phoebe gulped. "I... Nothing. It was no big deal. I'm sorry, Helga..."

Helga stared at her as she sheepishly went back to her own meal. She felt her heart sink and growled with frustration, shoving her food back into her bag and getting up from the table. After shoving her chair in with a slam against the table's edge, she stormed out of the cafeteria, down the hallway, and proceeded to sit in the stairwell.

Putting the brown paper bag in her lap, she looked down at her food and sighed, feeling more tears coming on. She cursed herself, her eyes still feeling sore from crying the night before, and the night before that, and the night before that, but it was no use. Helga began to cry. She held her face with one hand, as if to catch her tears, and in one swift motion she grabbed her lunch bag and threw it down the stairs, the food inside splattering and spilling out all over the floor at the bottom.

A minute or two passed before Phoebe appeared and sat beside her. No words passed between them as Phoebe wrapped her arms around her best friend and held her close.

* * *

Things were quiet for the rest of that week. They were quiet through to the start of the following week. Helga decided to spend lunch at her own table from now on, though Phoebe joined her most of the time so she wouldn't be completely alone. Arnold went about his daily life only barely capable of smiling or having fun, and with far less enthusiasm for doing the things that he usually enjoyed.

It wasn't as if they ignored each other completely, of course. They were constantly stealing glances at each other. Helga would stare at Arnold when he wasn't looking, and vice versa.

What surprised both of them is that Helga wound up stalking him once again, something she hadn't done regularly in months. She hid behind garbage cans, around corners, and even in empty lockers, just to watch him. Of course, this time Arnold was well aware of her efforts, and oftentimes he would deliberately go off on his own, wandering the halls or making unnecessary trips to the bathroom; he even took long walks around town after school, just to secretly encourage her to follow him, just to feel like they still had some kind of relationship between them.

He couldn't always tell where she was hiding, but he felt like she was always watching him, and in a strange sort of way, it comforted him to know that she was always nearby. That she was even thinking of him at all. The truth was, Helga couldn't really stop thinking of him. She stalked him not so much out of jealousy or suspicion, but because deep inside she still desperately wanted to be close to him, and this was the only way she knew of to achieve that without getting hurt.

Still, the game was wearing thin for both of them. They were dying to put an end to it, to return to their love for each other. But Arnold didn't dare to risk opening Helga's wounds again before they had fully healed, and Helga had retreated to the safety of distance and solitude, too afraid that to do so would not only reopen her wounds, it would prevent his from healing.

In spite of these fears, the agony of being apart was becoming just too much to bear.

* * *

"Valentine's Day is coming up, next weekend," Gerald said as he and Arnold sat on a bench in the mall, each enjoying a soft pretzel from Uncle Alan's Pretzels.

"Yeah," Arnold said quietly. Not looking forward to that conversation, he decided to try and change the subject. "You ever notice how weird it is that we have an Uncle Alan's and not an Auntie Anne's?"

"Maybe they couldn't afford Auntie Anne's," Gerald said with a shrug and a bite of his pretzel. "Come on, man. Part of you and me fixing things means talking to me when you're down. I talk to you, you talk to me. That's how this works."

Arnold rolled his eyes. "What's there to talk about, Gerald? I feel the same way I felt last week. I'm miserable. I'm angry at myself. I miss Helga. I miss her so much, and there's nothing I can do about it but wait for her to give me another chance."

Gerald stared at him for a moment, nodding slowly. "I know, man. It hurts when someone you care about leaves you all alone." That statement earned a glare from Arnold, but Gerald simply shrugged and kept eating his pretzel. "Ah'm jush shayin... I have _some_ idea what it feels like. But you know what I wish someone would have told me?"

"I know you're going to tell me anyway," Arnold said as he tore off a piece of his pretzel to eat in smaller bites.

"It won't last forever. You and Helga are too tight for that, just like you and me are too tight for that. Right...?"

"I guess... I mean, you're right, it's just that... It took her years to summon enough courage to tell me how she felt in the first place, and then it took her a while to tell me again in San Lorenzo. I can't wait that long..." Arnold sighed, and then looked around at their surroundings there in the mall with a bitter laugh. "Do you know she's stalking me again?"

"For real?" Gerald smirked and shook his head. "That sounds like typical Helga. I guess old habits die hard... You think she's here now?"

"I haven't seen her yet, but she's good at hiding. Sometimes I just... _feel_ that she's watching me, you know?"

Gerald shook his head. "No, I don't. But if Brainy shows up with a black eye, we'll know she's here for sure."

Arnold almost laughed. "Thanks, Gerald... You know, you're the best friend I could ask for. I neglected you, ignored you, to the point where I didn't even realize I was doing it in the first place, and here _you_ are trying to make _me_ feel better."

"That's because I'm awesome," Gerald said with a shrug. A couple minutes passed after that. Gerald finished his pretzel, but he figured he'd wait for Arnold. He wasn't in any hurry anyway. "The mall doesn't close early today, does it?"

Arnold had to think for a moment. "It's Tuesday, so I don't think so."

"Good. I'd like to try and get Phoebe's Valentine's Day present while we're here."

Arnold took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Yeah, we can do that..."

Gerald raised an eyebrow at that, noticing just how quickly Arnold deflated. "You know what? I bet Helga takes you back before Valentine's Day and you guys have an awesome day together."

"You really think so?" Arnold intended to sound sarcastic with that, but his truer, more optimistic self betrayed him and he actually sounded a little hopeful for a change.

"I told you, I bet on it. If she takes you back, you're buying my next pretzel. Deal?"

"Deal. And if she doesn't take me back? Next time we go to the movies, you buy my ticket."

"Fair enough, Football Head."

The boys did their signature handshake to seal the deal, and soon after Arnold finished his pretzel and they went on their way. As Gerald led them toward the electronics store, Arnold heard a shuffling sound behind them and looked back to see what it was. There was nothing out of the ordinary, but a sad smile slowly formed on his face as he looked ahead once again and kept walking.

Hiding behind a store display, Helga clutched her locket tightly and whispered, "Soon, my love..."

* * *

Arnold sighed with relief as he finished the last equation on his math homework. He put his worksheets away in the proper folder, then stuffed it in his backpack and turned off his desk lamp for the night. As he stood up from his desk chair and stretched his arms out, he felt his stomach start to growl. He didn't quite finish his dinner, as he wanted to retreat to his room as soon as possible, but an empty belly has no time for misery and loneliness.

So, he opened his bedroom door and lowered the stairs, descending as quietly as he could, and then took the same precaution as he headed down to the first floor of the boarding house. Once he knew he was safe from waking up any of the boarders, or his family for that matter, he made his way to the kitchen and fixed himself a simple turkey sandwich, then looked in the fridge for a beverage. He scanned the random assortment of colorful bottles and cans, and reached for a can of iced tea. He stopped, however, when he spotted the bottle of Yahoo beside it, and decided on that instead.

Satisfied with this simple extra meal, he sat there at the kitchen table and took his time eating it, enjoying the peace and quiet of the evening. Soon, however, he heard light footsteps, and some whispering, and then the sound of a piano, the slow, gentle notes unmistakable as the entry of a romantic ballad.

Arnold got up from the table and crept to the source of the music in the living room. He hid carefully around the corner and slowly peered around it. His parents held each other closely, slowly spinning and swaying to the music.

Miles smiled down at his beloved Stella and started to whisper the opening lines of the song to her. "Highway run... Into the midnight sun... Wheels go round and round, you're on my mind..." He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before he continued, "Restless hearts... Sleep alone tonight... Sending all my love along the wire..."

Arnold stood and watched them, listening to the song as they danced. He reached up to clutch at his heart, and felt the locket beneath his shirt. He imagined for a moment that he and Helga might dance to a song like this one day. Nothing fancy, just the two of them alone in a living room, in their pajamas, their hair loose and messy, simply enjoying each other's company. But then the reality of his current situation shattered that vision, and he winced as his heart skipped a beat.

Quickly he turned and rushed upstairs to his room, trying to be quiet but knowing he probably wasn't trying hard enough. He just hoped no one heard him as he walked to his bed, pulled back the covers, and lay down with his back to the rest of his room.

A minute passed before he heard his door slowly open. He closed his eyes tight and quickly wiped a stray tear away, hoping that whoever it was, they'd think he was fast asleep.

"I know you're awake, honey," his mom said as she walked up and put her hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay...?"

Arnold sighed and sat up, putting his feet over the edge of the bed so he could sit beside her. That's when he noticed his dad came up too. Miles sat on the other side of him and put his hand on his back. "What's up, kid?"

"I..." Arnold choked up, his hands curled tightly into fists.

"Yes, Arnold...? What's wrong, honey?"

Arnold's fists loosened, and his hands relaxed as he sighed. All the sadness he'd kept hidden from them washed over him like a tidal wave. "I... I miss her..." Quickly his parents embraced him, rubbing his back as he wept. After doing their best to comfort him, he decided to finally explain why he was so sad for all last week plus the last few days, to finally tell them the whole story from the beginning.

* * *

Helga sat in her room in her pajamas, taking only brief glances into a large wall mirror next to her bed while she brushed her damp golden locks as carefully as she could, wincing only a little as she hit the occasional snag. She still didn't quite like looking into mirrors, preferring to avoid her reflection if she could. Deep down she didn't always like the person who looked back, and lately she'd been struggling with that more than usual.

There was a knock on her door, and Helga could barely even muster a sigh. "Come in," she said just loud enough, or so she hoped. Luckily she didn't have to repeat herself, and her mother opened the door and walked in.

"Hello, Helga! Do you mind if I come in?" Helga was glad to hear that her speech wasn't slurred.

"No, that's why I said _come in_. Not to mention you already did, so... Do me a favor and turn that mirror around, I'm done with it," Helga said as she put her brush away.

Miriam nodded, though she gave the mirror a confused look as she turned it around, wondering if perhaps this had anything to do with those vampire books she'd been reading. "Well, Helga, honey, I just thought I'd come in and check on you, see how you're doing. I brought you something too!" Miriam set a pink jar candle down on Helga's nightstand, which Helga then picked up to read the label.

"Pink sands...?" She wasn't sure what the heck that meant, but she could guess why Miriam would pick this candle out of all the others. "Let me guess. You got this for me because it's pink, right?"

Miriam nodded excitedly. "Mmhmm! Also, the lady at the store told me it's supposed to smell like an exotic island escape, with a beautiful mix of bright citrus, sweet florals, and spicy vanilla."

Exotic island escape? Helga actually liked the sound of that. "Thanks, Miriam. It probably doesn't smell terrible... Also, I bet they have candles that smell like bacon. You should grab me one of those some time."

Miriam blinked. "Um...okay then..." She sat down next to Helga on her bed as Helga put the candle away and looked down at the floor, her hands folded in her lap. "So, how is everything going with your friends? Olga mentioned you seem kind of blue lately. Is something wrong?"

Helga rolled her eyes. Of course Olga went and told their mother that she was feeling down. "Well, I can say no, nothing's wrong. It'd get you out of my room faster, but...it would be a lie. I could also say that there _is_ something wrong, which is the truth, but then you'd have some big boring speech to give me..."

Miriam nodded slowly. "Okay... So, you don't want to tell me what's wrong..."

"Right."

"Okaaay... How about this. Do you have anything you'd like to ask me?"

Helga didn't expect that. When did Miriam give a crap about her sadness? Must be the sobriety talking, she thought. "Um..." Helga took a minute to think on it first, and suddenly an idea came to her. "Can I ask you something about you and dad?"

"Oh dear," Miriam said as a chill went down her spine. Was she going to have to have a _serious_ talk with her? She knew one day this would come, that it's something all parents must inevitably face, but she wasn't sure if she was ready. "You can...ask me anything, honey..."

"Why are you and Dad still together?"

Miriam gasped. That wasn't at all the question she was expecting.

"I mean... It's just that you guys fight a lot, and Dad can be such a...well, a jerk. You guys seem so miserable sometimes... Other parents, it seems like they get divorced when it gets too hard. What is that keeps you guys holding on?"

Miriam nodded slowly as she tried to process this. Once Helga explained her question, she felt a little better about having to answer it, but it still packed a wallop. "Well, honey, I... I know this seems like a simple question, but it's actually really complicated. See... Every marriage is different, just like every person is different. We're all unique in our own special way, so it makes sense that every marriage is going to be unique. Okay?"

"Okay...?" Helga said quietly as she looked up at her.

"Okay... So, I can't really say on my own why your father stays with me, because that's something you would have to ask him. Why do I stay with him? Well, um..." Miriam took off her glasses and massaged the bridge of her nose as she took a moment to think. "Let me tell you something about your father, okay? I know it doesn't always seem like it, but your father loves me very much. And you and your sister, too. He just doesn't always know how to show it, that's all."

"But for pretty much my whole life, all he's done is ignore me, and he treats you like crap. Olga's the only one he never has a problem with," Helga said with a bit of a snarl, though she eventually relented. "I suppose it's not all her fault...but still, what is his freaking problem with us?"

Miriam sighed. "Honey, your father's problem is that he doesn't always know how to make us happy. He wants what's best for us, the best that he feels we deserve. He just gets angry sometimes because he can't always do that. It's really hard for him."

"But if he wasn't so naive about every freaking thing, we wouldn't be living inside his stupid emporium full of junk. How can you still have faith in him?"

"That's not all his fault, honey. Your father and I never really told you how badly the FTi thing really hurt his business. He made a bad call, and he's been reckoning with that every day since then, but you have to know he only did that to try and help us." Miriam rubbed Helga's back up and down as she continued, "His father, his real father I mean, died from a heart attack at about the same age your father is now. Do you know how much he worries that any day now, he could die from the same thing and have _nothing_ to leave you and your sister?"

Helga shook her head slowly. "No, I didn't know that..."

"I love your father very much, Helga. He's not perfect," she says with a shrug. "No one is perfect. He makes mistakes, sometimes even big ones, but I forgive him because when all is said and done, I know he loves us too, and all he's trying to do is take care of us the best he can. Does that answer your question?"

Helga nodded. She wasn't really sure if it did, but she was left with a lot to think about, and that counted for something. "Do you ever get mad at him? Like, really mad at him, for a really long time?"

"Of course. I'm only human, honey."

"Do you ever, like..." Helga sighed. "Do you ever feel bad for getting mad at him for so long? Even if you know you're right, and what he did was wrong, and he feels really bad about it?"

"Sometimes I do. But eventually we talk things out, and I feel better..." Miriam watched as Helga nodded, as though she was taking notes internally, and suddenly she had a vague idea what must have happened to make Helga so depressed lately. "The thing is, it's okay to be mad at someone when they hurt your feelings. And sometimes it's even okay to feel bad for being mad at them. But it's also okay to forgive them, and you know something?"

"What?"

"It's okay to forgive yourself, too." Miriam leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "You should get some sleep now, okay honey?"

"Agreed," Helga said with a little yawn. "Thanks, Mom. I... I love you..." She leaned over and hugged her mom around the waist, and Miriam smiled and hugged her back.

"I love you too, Helga. Goodnight, dear." Miriam broke away so Helga could get into bed, and opened the door to walk out.

"Hey, Mom?" Helga said, prompting Miriam to stop and look around. "Tell Dad I love him too..."

Miriam smiled widely. "I will, dear. Sweet dreams..."

Once her mother finally left her alone, Helga pulled her sheets and blankets back on her bed and made sure her phone was plugged in. She reached to turn off the light, but paused and instead opened her nightstand drawer to pull out a book of matches that she normally used to light ceremonial candles and incense when she was feeling particularly superstitious.

Lighting a single match, she lit her "pink sands" scented candle and turned off the light, letting the single little flame cast a gentle glow over her nightstand and some of her bed.

As she curled under the covers, she closed her eyes and soon drifted away to a bright, beautiful tropical island beach, where she lay on a soft pink blanket absorbing the sun's rays. Something was missing, however, and she held her hand out to her side.

It wasn't until she felt her hand taken by the warm, gentle hand of her beloved that she truly, finally felt she was at peace.


	37. Faithfully

**Hearts of Gold**

37\. Faithfully

Friday morning, Helga found herself waking up earlier than usual. Lately she'd been sleeping in, rushing out in a panic, and going to school looking like she got caught in a tornado on the way there. With some extra time on her hands, Helga figured she should at least wash off the stank she'd been building for the past couple days or so.

She gathered some clean clothes and a towel and put her boots on, heading to the back of the store. It was a short walk to the only bathroom they had with a working shower: the bathroom inside Bob's old RV 2000. It couldn't be driven anywhere, of course, and a lot of that fancy hi-tech camping equipment was old and broken down, something that surprised absolutely no one. But it did have a bathroom with a shower stall in it, and usually it was always running and warmed up by the time she arrived for her shower.

Helga was not pleased to discover that it was occupied, however, and for a pretty dumb reason. "Olga, do you really need to practice in there? I am in serious need of a shower right now."

Olga turned to her and smiled. "Good morning, baby sister! Are you feeling better?" She had been braiding the surprisingly realistic hair of what looked like a mannequin head, with several different hair products all gathered up on the sink.

"Just peachy, Olga. Can I just take my shower now? Please?"

"Sure thing! I'll get out of your hair in just a second. Wait..." Olga laughed as she realized the accidental pun she made, though Helga was less amused. She quickly gathered her various hairstyling tools and stepped out. "Hey! That gives me an idea!"

Helga stepped into the bathroom and got her things ready. "Make it quick," she said before she began to brush her teeth.

"When you're done your shower, would you let me practice on you?"

Helga raised an eyebrow, then rinsed and spat into the sink. "You're crazy if you think I'm letting you paint my face."

Olga laughed. "Your hair, silly. Let me do your hair, pleeeease? I promise I won't do anything too crazy."

Helga instinctively reached up to stroke one of her unkempt, unwashed, slept-in pigtails. Her hair had gotten a little longer, and after Daisy showed up with her fancy new 'do, she had entertained the idea of doing something different. Those thoughts got lost in her mind when she was flooded with heartbreak and despair that day at the party, but with Olga's offer to practice on her head, that curiosity returned to her. "I'll think about it. Wait here, okay?"

Olga nodded. "Waiting!"

Helga did a double-take for a moment. Usually Phoebe said stuff like that, only she hadn't in a while. Hmmm... Oh well, she thought. She closed the door and got into the shower, soothed by the warm water as it washed over her. She paid her hair extra attention, making sure it was as clean as it could be. Once she was all freshened up, she quickly dried off, rolled her eyes as she applied her deodorant, a practice she was still getting used to, and left her hair hanging down in damp, golden waves.

Olga was happy to see that when she came out. "Yes? I can do your hair!?"

Helga sighed. "Yes, you can do my hair. But it better not be something you can't undo if I don't like it."

"You got it!" Olga grabbed an old empty cooler for Helga to sit on, then stepped behind her. "Hold this, okay?" She handed Helga a large mirror to hold up in front of her face, which only made her wince. She hated looking at herself in any mirror, but with one so big, and so close to her face, she opted to close her eyes at first. "So," Olga said as she started to softly rake her fingers through her hair, "Any ideas or suggestions?"

Helga thought for a moment, and out of the blue an old memory she'd long buried returned to her. The memory of another time when her hair was done in an unusual style, against her will on that occasion. That and an annoying Swiss accent that she found herself missing, to her surprise. "Braids," she said quietly. "But not too tight."

Olga nodded. "I know just the thing. You'll still have your pigtails, but I'll put them in a loose version of a Dutch braid. Trust me, you'll love it!"

Helga shrugged, and she had to admit that once Olga got to work, she was impressed. She expected a lot more yanking and pulling, more moments where she'd have to shout at her to stop doing something annoying, but to her credit Olga managed to work without any hassle at all. She really seemed to know what she was doing.

"Hey Olga... Can I talk to you about something?"

"Of course, Baby Sister!"

"And could you, like, not talk to Mom or Dad about it?"

Olga paused. "Is it serious?"

"Actually, it's about Arnold." Helga swallowed hard. "I haven't really talked to him, or spent any time with him for over a week. He really hurt my feelings, and he does feel bad, but I don't know if I'm ready to forgive him. I want to, I just... I'm still scared..."

Olga's eyes narrowed with thought. "How long have you liked Arnold, anyway?"

Helga rolled her eyes. "Only my whole life. Since pre-school..."

"Okay... How long did it take to tell him that you liked him?"

Helga almost lowered her head, until Olga guided it back up. "A while. Years, actually..."

"Did you think he wouldn't like you?" Olga asked quietly. When Helga didn't respond, she had her answer. "Helga, it's okay to be mad at him, or feel hurt, if he did something wrong. That's normal. Sometimes boys can be stupid. Some boys learn their lesson, others don't... Do you think he's going to be mad at you for taking your time?"

"I don't know... He was hanging around with another girl too much, and... What if he doesn't like me anymore?"

Olga grimaced at that. "Did you talk to him about how you felt?"

"Yeah..."

"Did he _say_ he didn't like you anymore?"

"...No..."

"What did he say when you told him you needed to take a little break?"

Helga snarled at that, "We didn't break up."

"Well, you know what I mean, not a break up, just a little break."

"Whatever you say, Ross," Helga sighed. "He said... I told him I needed more time, and he said..."

"He said...?"

"He said he would wait for me..."

A big, warm smile formed on Olga's face then. "Then it sounds like he's waiting for you. That's all."

"You really think so?" Helga asked as hope began to return to her, and worries that had gnawed at her for some time began to drift away.

"I'd bet on it," Olga said with a little wink. She then bit her lip for a moment as she finished braiding the second pigtail, then tossed them over her shoulders to the front. "There you go, Baby Sister! Just give me one...second..." Olga looked around for a moment, then got an idea. "Give me that mirror, and go look in the bathroom one. Let me know if you like it!"

Helga shrugged and stood up, stepping into the bathroom. As she looked at her reflection, Olga held the other mirror behind her head. A smile crept onto Helga's face as she looked back and forth between the back view and the front. "You know something, Olga... I _do_ like it..."

"YAAAY! I knew you would!"

"Just one more thing," Helga said before putting her bow in its proper place at the top of her head.

"Perfect! Oh em gee, you look so beautiful and grown up!" Before Helga had any time to block her incoming attack, Olga took her in for a classic death hug. She started to count the seconds in her head, wondering how long she had before she fell unconscious. "Promise me you'll tell me what all your friends said at school when you get home!"

"IF...YOU PROMISE...NOT...TO BREAK...MY RIBS..."

Olga let her go and giggled a little. "Sorry... Goodness, what time is it? You have to be at school soon, don't you!"

"Crap," Helga said as oxygen returned to her. She reached into her pocket to check the time on her phone, only to realize it was still in her room. She knew she had some time left before the bus came, but a thought occurred to her. "Think you could give me a ride?"

"Of course! You just go get your things, and I'll get the car nice and warm, okay?"

"Thanks... Say, um, before we do that. Real quick... I was thinking of wearing something a little different. I know I already picked out the usual, as you can see, but... I don't know, I just feel like trying something a little new. But we have to hurry."

Olga giggled. "Of course I can help you! Why, I bet you have new clothes from Christmas you haven't even worn yet. I must ask, though... Any particular reason you felt like a makeover today? _Hmmmm_...?"

Helga gulped. "Um... Well, I guess maybe I'm just feeling a little insecure, and... Ugh, forget I said anything, okay?" Helga grumbled and crossed her arms.

"Helga, it's okay. Most girls start feeling the same way around your age. I know I did. But don't worry, you are just as lovely as can be. I must ask, though... Does this have anything to do with Arnold...?"

Helga's face turned bright red. "I... That's... He... I plead the fifth."

Olga rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Helga. Let's go inside and get to work."

* * *

Arnold sat at his desk with his head propped up on his arm as other kids started to arrive. After spending some time on the phone with Gerald, he was able to get a decent night's sleep for a change, but once again he left without eating any breakfast, and despite all the comfort his friends and his family could give him, he still missed her. He still felt that horrible loneliness inside. Every time he tried to distract himself from his own despair, it seemed to claw its way back into his mind. Of course, sometimes it had help from other people.

"Boy, you sure look miserable, Arnold," Sid said as he sat on top of his desk, letting his feet dangle off the side.

"Thanks, Sid," Arnold said bitterly.

"Of course he's miserable, Helga just broke up with him last week," Stinky responded. "It's okay, Arnold, I know how you feel. She broke up with me too once, but look at me now! Lila and I have been going steady. Yup, one day, I reckon I'll ask her to marry me."

"That's great, Stinky. I'm really happy for you," Arnold sighed. "But we're not broken up. Helga's just...taking time to think some things over, and I'm just waiting for her. That's all..."

"Girls take too long to do anything," Curly grumbled. "It's been months, for crying out loud! ...Okay, so it's been a little over one month, but still. It _feels_ like it's been months." Everyone glanced at Curly like he just spoke in a dead language forgotten by time. "What? That's hardly the weirdest thing I've said this year...this week...today..."

"What are you, a bunch of vultures? Leave the poor man alone, give him some space," Gerald said as he walked in and sat down at his desk, which everyone else decided to do as well. "How about you come to the movies with us tomorrow? Then we can hang out at your place. I know I could use a break."

"Us?" Arnold said curiously.

"Yeah, us. Your friends, remember?"

Arnold looked around the room until he saw Daisy at her desk, her head down on her arms, apparently having fallen asleep. Still, he kept his voice down. "I don't know, Gerald... It would look too much like a double date."

"First of all, you know Phoebe and I could vouch for you. Second of all, Daisy's not coming anyway."

"She's not?"

"Nope. She said the same thing you did." Gerald rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head. "You know, if we could set her up with someone, then she'd have her own boyfriend, and it wouldn't be an issue."

Arnold sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Gerald, she doesn't even want a boyfriend right now. That's the ironic thing. She keeps saying she's fine without a relationship, she just wants to be our friend. Daisy's punishing herself because of what I did, and honestly I'm pretty sure everyone else looks at her differently now too. No offense, but even you and Phoebe."

"Don't look at me, I'm not treating her any different," Gerald said as he put his hands up defensively.

"Still, it's just... She didn't do anything on purpose. She's just different from us, that's all. It's my fault that everybody hates her anyway. It was my job to look out for myself and for Helga. I should have known not get too close, and I failed."

"Look, I don't hate her, and I know it's not all her fault. But it's not all _your_ fault either. And can you really blame Phoebe for sticking with Helga? I mean, think about it. What are you going to do if Helga doesn't want her around?"

Arnold groaned and laid his head on his desk, face down. "Why did I have to be such an idiot...?"

Suddenly the whole class got quieter, and Gerald nudged Arnold's shoulder. "Hey, Arnold," he whispered. "Look..."

Arnold lifted his head up, and his eyes widened at the sight. Helga slowly walked into the room, her hair hanging down over the front of her shoulders in voluminous, loosely braided pigtails. Her dress was a brighter pink, and a simple white unbuttoned cardigan completed the new wardrobe. Not that any of it was actually new, of course, but it was a break from the standard she always wore. She was also looking particularly radiant and pretty that day, though Arnold couldn't figure out why, as she didn't seem to be wearing any makeup. He quickly realized there was a certain light in her eyes that he hadn't seen in some time.

Helga sat at her desk, a little nervous about everyone staring at her, but she kept her eyes low so she didn't have to see their leering faces, and she did her best to ignore the whispers throughout the room. She heard a familiar wheezing sound off to her right, but a quick glare silenced the little creeper.

Arnold was nervous as well. Why was she dressed that way? Should he say something? Was he allowed to say anything? Would Helga be upset with him if he did? He wasn't sure. But the thought occurred to him that she might be more upset if he didn't acknowledge her at all. With his heart set in the right place, he summoned enough courage to finally break the ice with her. "Hi, Helga."

Helga took a deep breath and let it out slow before turning to look at him. "Hey, Arnold..."

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, as if they'd fallen into them. "You look really pretty today," Arnold said quietly. "I mean, you always look really pretty, but like...today you...are also really pretty..." Arnold cursed himself for the fumble, but he was hopeful that she wouldn't really mind.

Helga gulped as her face turned red. It had been some time since she heard a compliment like that from him. "Thank you," she said as she looked down at her dress and ran her fingers over her braids. "My sister helped, actually... I mean I picked everything out, essentially, but she really mostly helped with the hair, so..."

Arnold nodded slowly, noticing that she was actually acting rather shy. "Well, I like it. You... You did a good job..." Arnold gave her a little smile. Helga looked up at him, and the sight of that old familiar smile was enough for her to smile back. She actually felt herself having to hold back a swoon.

"Thank you. That's...really sweet..." Helga couldn't believe she just said he was sweet. Normally such language disgusted her.

Before anything else could be said, Mr. Frank arrived. Class began as it always did, but as he droned on about numbers, or dead presidents, or the life cycles of small insects, neither Arnold nor Helga could hear a word he said. Their minds were far too preoccupied as they wondered what the other must be thinking.

Most of all, for the first time in what felt like forever, they were full of hope.

* * *

Hope lasted until lunch. Arnold sat with Phoebe and Gerald and Daisy in their old spot, hopeful that Helga would join them. However, much to Arnold's disappointment, Helga still went to her own table. Still not wanting her to sit alone, Phoebe told Gerald she'd text him and left to sit with her. With Helga and Phoebe gone from the table, Daisy felt that it was her presence there that divided everyone, and so she decided to leave as well, going off to find another table instead.

She looked around the cafeteria, wondering where she could possibly sit where she wouldn't feel unwanted or ridiculed, and felt that her most promising option was to sit at the table with the tall hillbilly kid, the red-headed girl who reminded her of Anne of Green Gables, the really clumsy kid with the braces, and the really soft-spoken girl who seemed to take it upon herself to help him every time he hurt himself.

Daisy swallowed hard as she approached, her shoulders hiked up and her head low, making her look kind of like a nervous, frightened cat. "Hi, um... I don't think we've really talked much or anything, but... May I sit with you guys today? Maybe even the next few days?"

"Sure! We don't mind, do we?" the red-headed girl asked as she looked around the table. When no one objected, she continued, "See? You are ever so welcome."

"Thanks," Daisy said as she sat down. "I'm sorry, it's just... There's drama at my own table, and I feel like crap, and I don't want to be a source of bad vibes for anyone over there." She looked at the red-headed girl curiously. "I'm so sorry, but remind me, what was your name again?"

"It's quite alright. My name is Lila, and this is Eugene, and Sheena, and my...boyfriend, Stinky."

Stinky's eyes widened. To his recollection, they hadn't used those labels yet. "Gosh, Miss Lila, I do believe that makes it official, huh?"

Lila nodded and smiled. Daisy, however, gulped nervously, and made sure to scoot her chair away from them a little. "So, um... I think I might just, like... Keep to myself, okay? I don't want to intrude or anything..."

"It's okay," Eugene said with a smile. "We don't mind."

"I like your hair," Sheena said as she tilted her head to one side, looking her green strands over curiously.

"Thanks," Daisy said as she tried to relax a bit more.

"If you don't mind me asking, would you like to talk about, well, whatever it is that made you leave your old table?" Lila asked in a gentle, concerned tone.

Daisy blinked, not sure what to say. "Well... I, um..."

"Helga got all jealous on account of Arnold was hanging out with her and that's why Helga broke up with him," Stinky said naively. Lila shot him a rather horrified glance, and he shrugged. "Sorry..."

"It's okay," Daisy sighed. "I don't think they're actually broken up, but yeah... It's basically my fault they're fighting. Got close with them, and... When I get close with people, well... I tend to be kind of...you know...affectionate. Hugs, holding hands, that sort of thing. Didn't mean anything by it, but... I should have known Helga would be upset." Daisy shrugged and closed her eyes. "If you guys don't mind, I'm just going to listen to some music on my phone and zone out."

Lila nodded. "We understand, Daisy. And I'm ever so sorry for your troubles."

"Thank you," Daisy said with a sad smile before pulling out some small, foldable headphones and drowned out all the cafeteria chatter with some Joy Division.

"What a terrible misunderstanding," Sheena said quietly. "I feel bad for them..."

"Helga's been after him for years. Now that she's finally got him, it's no wonder she's upset. I reckon she'd freak out over any girl who got between them," Stinky said before filling his mouth with lemon pudding, which is his favorite kind of pudding because lemon pudding is the kind of pudding he likes the most.

Lila simply stared at the strange, sad girl before her, seeing something of herself just by the nature of her situation. She turned to look across the cafeteria to where Helga now sat with Phoebe, away from Arnold and Gerald, and she wondered if perhaps she should intervene and talk with Helga herself.

She felt uniquely qualified to help Daisy, and perhaps even an obligation to do so, but nonetheless she knew that if she did decide to step in, she would have to tread lightly.

* * *

Arnold stared over at Helga from his table and wondered, what went wrong between homeroom and now? Before he could talk to Gerald, another lunch tray was dropped loudly on their table.

"Mind if I visit you guys today? I'm in a foul mood, I say, a foul mood!" Curly said rather theatrically. Arnold could practically feel the headache already.

"Hi, Curly... Listen, it's nothing personal, but I was hoping to have a private conver-"

"Lady troubles? Let me tell you something, mister! No matter how many times you pour your guts out, it's never enough! Then, you get them a really nice gift, and they never even think to ask you about it! Nooooo sir, and then? You decide, maybe you shouldn't take credit. Maybe it's not meant to be, so you go to her best friend and ask her to take the credit. And then what? Nothing! I don't know what happened, Arnold! Either way we're all doomed, you know that? Doomed to be alone! Doomed to wallow in a despair of our own making!"

Gerald was already putting his earbuds in, shrugging over at Arnold as he focused on eating his food until Curly left them alone. Arnold tried again, "Listen, Curly, I need to talk to Gerald about Helga. This is-"

"Ohhh, Helga Helga Helga. You've been chasing her for years, haven't you? Don't think I never noticed! Now she comes in with a new look, just to rub it in your face! I bet she's trying to get a new boyfriend. That's it! She wants someone else, Rhonda wants someone else, or maybe they just want nobody and they're totally fine ditching us handsome bachelors! Either way, we are ditched, you hear me Arnold!? We are-"

"CURLY!" Arnold yelled. "Please leave us alone, okay?"

Curly stared at Arnold for a moment and said with remarkable clarity, "But I need your help... Please..."

Arnold was surprised by this. It was rare for Curly to be this genuine. "So... Rhonda's drawing, it was you who gave it to her? Does she know it was you?"

Curly shrugged. "I don't know. I asked Nadine to talk to her. I told her she should take the credit for it because Rhonda doesn't like me, and then I never heard anything. I don't know if Nadine even talked with her to begin with, let alone whether she told her the truth or not. I think she's avoiding me on purpose..."

Arnold nodded slowly. He struggled to wrap his mind around all this, but just trying to deal with someone else's situation in the midst of his torment was giving him a headache. "Well... I guess I could talk to Nadine for you some time. Honestly though, you really should just tell Rhonda yourself."

Curly rolled his eyes. "Sure, whatever. Just find out what's taking so long and let me know. Oh, and good luck with Helga. Even though she's probably over you." With that, the crazy boy walked off with his tray, and peace was restored at their table. However, as Gerald pulled his earbuds out, he could see from the look on Arnold's face that the damage was done.

"Arnold...?"

Arnold kept his eyes closed, sitting perfectly still. "He's right. She's over me."

"Arnold, you can't be serious, this is Curly we're talking about. He's _completely_ insane. Are you really going to listen to him?"

Arnold looked back at Helga just in time to catch her staring at him, though she tried to play it off like she wasn't. He winced at that and turned back to his food. "Let's just finish our lunch so today can be over..."

Gerald sighed. "Whatever you say, man. Whatever you... No, you know what? I'm telling you right now, you _better not_ give up. You're Arnold. _The_ Arnold. If there's one person who never gives up hope, it's you."

"But-"

"But nothing. Take the rest of the day to build yourself up again, and after school, you walk right up to her and you talk to her. Got it?"

Arnold swallowed hard, glancing back at her one more time. "I'll... I'll think about it..."

Gerald sighed and shook his head. "Whatever, man. Just let me know when you're ready to stop being such a downer..." He put his earbuds back in and finished his lunch without saying another word.

All the while, Arnold's thoughts were total chaos. Should he really believe the ramblings of a raving lunatic like Curly? Or was now really the time to make up with Helga and renew their relationship?

* * *

Helga noticed a shift in Arnold after lunch. He smiled at her during homeroom, and he even talked to her. She noticed Curly had said something to him, however, enough to make Arnold yell at him to go away, and after that Arnold was back to moping around like a zombie. She stalked him through the hallways, hoping for a sign that this was just a momentary phase, but it was no use.

She hoped that she could begin to slowly rebuild with him, that she could take her time to regroup. Part of her felt that it would be easier for both of them, but deep down inside she knew that these were just the lies she told herself out of fear. She knew now she couldn't take things slow anymore. Arnold was simply hurting too much, and she couldn't bear to see him like that anymore.

Eventually school finally came to an end that day, and another weekend had arrived. Everyone else rushed out with excitement, but not Arnold. He walked slowly, his shoulders slumped, his head down, feeling defeated. All day he hoped that Helga would talk to him, that she would give him another chance, but she hadn't.

Little did he know that Helga followed him from a distance, watching as he decided not to take the bus and started to walk home instead. Only he didn't walk straight home. Instead he seemed to wander around town for a bit before walking to a huge, empty lot behind several old buildings. A place that was all too familiar to both of them. Arnold had many great memories there, though they had been tainted when he learned of the memories he could have made. Helga, meanwhile, only remembered the pain and the loneliness she felt every time the lights went off.

This time of year, the place was just cold, and empty, much like Arnold's heart had been for the last couple weeks. It looked strange without the rides, the Ferris wheel, the games, or the snack stands full of cheese.

Helga hid around the corner as Arnold stood in the center of this empty lot, watching as he pulled out his locket. He opened it to her picture and sighed as he looked into her big, beautiful blue eyes. He remembered that day well, how he held her and gave her warmth and love and joy just when she felt that all hope had been lost.

Helga slowly and quietly walked out from behind the corner, standing a short distance behind him and listening closely as he began to speak.

"Helga... I know what I did was wrong. I don't blame you if you're done with me. I don't blame you for anything. I blame myself. I'm sorry I couldn't live up to the person you fell in love with... I just wish I could tell you how much I miss you. How much I can't stand it that you're not part of my life anymore.

"I see you almost every day, and it hurts. It hurts to know that I hurt you. I want to take all your pain away, and I mean all of it. And maybe you don't feel it anymore, I don't know. I don't know... Seeing you today... It looks like you're ready to move on. Like you're happy without me. And that's okay. More than anything else, I want you to be happy. Even if it means I can't be with you anymore, or be your friend anymore... If you're finally happy again without me, then I have to learn to live with myself. Somehow...

"I just... I really wish you were here, Helga. Being apart isn't easy. I wish you would come back. I'm lost without you, Helga. I'm so...so..."

"Arnold..."

Arnold spun around and there she was, standing just a few feet away from him. "Helga... Were you...?"

Helga nodded. "Yeah, I was..."

"So, you heard...everything?"

"I did..." Helga took a deep breath. "Arnold, the reason I was hurt so much is because I was afraid that I lost you. That I wasn't good enough for you anymore. I don't _want_ to be without you. And I don't _want_ for you to feel so lonely either. I honestly, like... I can't even believe how much you've been hurting without me. I mean, it's not like I didn't believe you before, after everything you've done for me, it's just... You really don't want to lose me either, do you?"

Arnold shook his head. "I need you too, Helga. I promise, if you stand by me, I...I..."

Helga smiled at him and swallowed hard. "Are you still mine, Arnold...?"

With those words, Arnold let go of all his doubt, all his fear, and he ran up to her and embraced her tightly. As she embraced him in return, he could feel that his heart was made whole again. Warm tears rolled down their faces, and they smiled their brightest smiles. Helga pulled away just enough to stare into his eyes before gently taking his face in her hands and kissing him tenderly.

When their lips parted after a moment, Arnold pulled away just enough to stare into her eyes and say, "I'm forever yours..."


	38. Bevvitched

**Hearts of Gold**

38\. Bevvitched

Gerald crossed his arms and tapped his foot with impatience as he stood in the lobby of the Kiska movie theater. It wasn't the oldest movie theater in town, but it was the older of the two Kiska theaters, and it showed. Still, the gang was convinced that the Kiska had the most comfortable seats, and the tastiest popcorn. Hence why Gerald was so impatient. He shivered as he sighed and pulled out his phone to check the time. "He better be coming."

"Well, he did say he was coming," Phoebe said with a shrug, recalling a quick text from Arnold the day before. "Perhaps he went to the other Kiska by mistake, or even the Avon theater."

Gerald rolled his eyes. "The other Kiska, maybe, but the Avon? No, he's probably flaking on us." He turned and looked at Phoebe. "You know, I was hoping he really was past this, that he would stop ditching me all the time. Thing is, these days I can't really be too mad about it. The boy's really broken up inside."

Phoebe hugged his arm and took his hand. "I know, Gera-kun... All we can do is wait, I guess." She laid her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. "Do you want to pick a movie and get our tick-" Phoebe was interrupted by the sound of her phone and quickly pulled it out of her coat pocket to answer it, having recognized Helga's ringtone.

"Helga? Hi. Um, I'm at the-"

"Have you guys picked out a movie yet?" Helga said quickly.

"Um, no. How did you...?"

"We're on our way! Wait for us, we won't be much longer!"

Us? We? Phoebe's eyes widened at Helga's choice of words, and when she realized what they meant, a big, bright smile grew on her face. "Waiting!" Phoebe said enthusiastically before hanging up and looking at Gerald.

"What did Helga want?" he asked with a raised brow.

"I think you're going to be quite happy, Gerald." She stood on her toes and leaned in to kiss his cheek. "Let's wait just a bit longer."

Gerald smirked as he reached up to touch his cheek. He sighed and crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall and watched the front doors. "Okay, okay, but we can't wait too much longer. We'll miss the previews, and we might have to wait even longer for a later show."

"Just trust me."

"Whatever you say," Gerald said as he couldn't help noticing a hint of excitement in her voice. As they waited a few more minutes, Gerald listened to some music on his phone while Phoebe waited for _them_ to arrive, all the while keeping her phone in hand in case she got any text messages from Helga. They didn't have to wait too long, however, as Arnold and Helga both eventually burst through the doors into the theater lobby.

Gerald's head darted up and he couldn't believe the sight. "Arnold? And Helga? What...wait... Are you guys...!?"

"Hell yeah, we are!" Helga said with a wicked grin.

"You were right, Gerald," Arnold said as he and a pleasantly surprised Gerald did their signature handshake. Meanwhile Helga embraced Phoebe tightly.

"Thanks, Pheebs. I couldn't have made it through this without you..."

Phoebe smiled widely, relieved that her best friend's troubles were finally in the past. "You're welcome, Helga."

When Helga and Phoebe separated, Helga looked at Gerald. They smiled awkwardly, and Gerald wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but then Helga sighed and gave him a warm hug as well. "Thanks for looking after him, Geraldo."

Gerald was surprised, but he gave her a quick hug back. "No problem, Pataki."

With all that settled, Helga looked at the marquee and crossed her arms as she scanned the various titles. "So, any suggestions? I know what I'd like to see," she said with a wicked smirk.

"What's that?" Gerald asked curiously.

" _THE WITCH_!" Helga said eagerly while putting on a rather sinister witch voice.

"I thought it was, like... the Vuh-Vitch or something like that." Gerald scratched his head as he glanced over at the rather ominous poster for the film. "And why is there a goat in it?"

"The double-V is an antiquated representation of the letter W, believe it or not," Phoebe said as she adjusted her glasses. "It's based on a much more archaic typeface than we are used to."

"Come on guys," Helga said as she stepped in front of everyone to plead her case. "We _all_ love scary movies, and this is supposed to be the scariest movie ever! Or at least in a long time. We _have to_ see it!"

"I don't know, Helga," Arnold said with a gulp. Something about that goat really creeped him out. "That movie is rated R. How would we even get in?"

"We could always just buy a ticket to some kids movie and sneak in. That way, like... We still paid for a ticket, right? So it's not that big a deal," Gerald shrugged.

Arnold sighed. "I'm not sure..."

"I understand there is significant detail paid to the historical accuracy of the film. For example, I've heard that the characters all speak in a dialect consistent with 17th century New England," Phoebe said with a little shrug. "It sounds strange, but there may be some educational quality to it."

"You hear that, Arnold? It's scary _and_ educational!" Helga said as she grabbed him by the shoulders as if to shake some sense into him.

Arnold swallowed hard and looked into her eyes. "Are we _really_ about to see this thing?"

"I'll let you hold my hand," Helga said a little too sweetly. "Please?"

There was something about the mischievous look in her eyes that left Arnold feeling much more relaxed about the movie, all his doubts simply fading away into a sea of blue. One might say it was as if she had bewitched him. He simply couldn't say no. "Okay. Let's do it."

"YES!" Helga shouted. "Let's go!" Helga dragged him over to the box office, Gerald and Phoebe following closely behind, and after getting their tickets, they quickly moved to concessions. Arnold stared at his beloved as she ordered an extra large popcorn with, as she put it, "too much butter", as well as a large Yahoo soda. She had to nudge him to get him to order a medium soda of his own, so enamored was he at that moment.

Helga blushed when she realized why he was acting like such a zombie. Who'd have guessed a new hairdo could make such a difference? She still wasn't quite used to that look, or to the idea that she herself was pretty enough to cause it, but beneath her nerves she truly was flattered. "C'mon, my love." Carefully holding her drink and her popcorn in one arm, something she'd become rather skilled at over the years, she took Arnold's hand and led him into the dark theater.

It wasn't until they took their seats that his trance was broken, having noticed that Gerald and Phoebe weren't still with them. "Hey, where'd they go?" he asked as he put his jacket in the empty seat beside him.

Helga rolled her eyes. "You didn't hear them say they wanted to sit by themselves?" Helga chuckled when Arnold sheepishly shook his head. "Oh, brother... What am I going to do with you, Football Head?"

Arnold shrugged and took a sip of Yahoo. "Beats me, Helga."

Thankfully they were in the theater early enough that they hadn't missed the previews, as movie trivia was still being projected onto the screen. Helga carefully leaned back and kicked her feet up on the back of the empty seat in front of her and shoveled a handful of deliciously salty, buttery popcorn into her mouth. Arnold tried to stifle a laugh, but Helga caught him. "What's so funny?" she snarled playfully.

Arnold reached over and brushed a popcorn kernel off her face with the tip of his finger. "Nothing. That popcorn must be delicious."

Helga glanced down at her massive popcorn bucket. "Oh. Uh, yeah. Yup, really hits the spot..."

Sensing that might have made her feel a little self conscious, Arnold leaned over, gently nudged her chin to turn her face toward him, and slowly pressed his lips against hers. After lingering there for a moment, Arnold pulled back and smirked. "I was right. It is delicious."

Helga's face turned redder than that of a fire engine. Not knowing she was thinking out loud, she whispered, "Holy shit, Arnold..."

"What?" Arnold said as he maintained his smirk, though inside he was wondering if he'd gone a bit too far.

"That's a BOLD kid down there!" Arnold heard Gerald yell from a higher seat, which didn't help matters.

"Helga...?"

"Huh? Oh, n-nothing, that...um... Here, you can h-have some if you want..." Helga said as she held the bucket a little closer to him, all the while she could feel her heart racing.

"Was that too weird?" Arnold asked quietly.

"Was what...? Oh, you mean... No, that was...just...really _wow_ is all. I didn't know you could flirt like that..." Helga swallowed hard as a little smile began to form involuntarily. Before much else could be said, the lights began to fade, the screen went dark, and then a bright green MPAA label informed them that it was time for the seemingly endless onslaught of trailers.

Arnold smiled as well, relieved that he hadn't overstepped any boundaries, and though Helga kept her eyes up at the screen, Arnold couldn't be bothered to care about whatever upcoming movies were being shown off on the screen before them. He had his Helga back, and from the looks of it, she was glad to have him back as well. Everything was finally perfect again.

Soon he found himself staring at her once more, really studying the features of her face, her hair, her neck; Arnold couldn't help but sigh. How could he have failed to notice her before? To think, this beauty had been in front of him the whole time. Those eyes he loved to fall into, those lips he loved to kiss...

A strange feeling came over him as he felt the rapid beat of his heart, his blood racing through his body. He'd felt this strange feeling a handful of times before, but it was stronger now. Whatever it was, it was confusing and terrifying and wonderful all at the same time. Still, he had no idea what this feeling was, and it was really bugging him.

It wasn't until he suddenly felt a weird tingly sensation in a rather sensitive area that his mind flashed back to before Thanksgiving. To a particularly awkward unit he learned about in health class. Now he finally understood, and the confusion turned into panic. He glanced down at his lap, and then over at Helga.

She was smart, he knew that. What if she saw him like this? What would he say? What would she do?

Arnold quickly and quietly pulled his jacket over his lap and turned his head back to the screen, eyes already wide with horror before the movie even started.

* * *

When the film was over, everyone walked out of the theater with a different reaction. Gerald found the whole thing rather boring. Phoebe was fascinated by how well it represented 17th century colonial superstitions. Helga was enthralled by it, delighted by the sinister atmosphere and the disturbing events that transpired. Arnold, meanwhile, was rather shell-shocked. Only it wasn't the movie. Oh sure, Arnold found it rather spooky and was unnerved by it several times, but he was far more shocked by what had happened before the movie even started.

Was this going to happen again? How often? How long would it last? Was there any way to make it go away quickly, or to stop it before it happens altogether? These questions and more flew around in his mind like creepy old hags zipping through the air on magic broomsticks. When he went home that night, he wasn't sure just who he could talk to. He considered both of his parents, and his grandparents too, and the thought of telling any of them was just too awkward.

When he went to bed that night, he thought about how they had already made plans to hang out tomorrow. He was only certain of one thing: no matter what happened, he was not going to let it happen again.

* * *

Arnold sat on the living room couch with a bowl of pretzels and a can of ginger ale, watching the local news. He barely paid much attention the typically uninteresting human interest story, this time featuring a lady in Hillwood whose dog starred in a viral video on the internet. What really caught Arnold's attention, however, was the story that Hillwood was going to be in for some bad weather through the week, and that after Valentine's Day weekend, Hillwood was expected to be hit by a massive ice storm.

The ominous warning had Arnold a little on edge as he sat straight up, eyes wide as he saw footage from another ice storm that hit a couple towns over last month. The frozen trees writhing in the wind, huge trucks plowing the roads through a thick white haze of snow. Was Hillwood going to be hit that badly? The thought was enough to send chills down his spine...

Suddenly Arnold felt familiar hands on his shoulders, and Helga leaned down and whispered, "Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?"

"Helga!" Arnold gasped as he jumped up from the couch, now feeling chills down his spine for a very different reason. All the while, Helga was doubled over with laughter.

"Oh man, Arnold, you should have seen your face! That was freaking priceless!" She continued laughing as Arnold crossed his arms, but she quickly calmed herself as she walked around to the other side of the couch and gave him a big smile. "It's just me, you big doofus! I didn't get you _that_ badly, did I? Criminy, you know it was just a movie..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know..." Arnold shrugged, feeling a little annoyed as he turned his eyes away. With that, Helga walked up to him and gave him a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"I didn't mean to scare you that much, okay? C'mon, let's find something good to watch." She sat down on the couch, and feeling a little better now, Arnold joined her. "I'm honestly surprised you didn't hear me come in."

"Yeah, well," Arnold gestured to the TV. "I was just watching the news. Apparently we're getting a big storm next week."

Helga rolled her eyes. "You really believe that crap? Every time some wacko on TV says there's gonna be a storm, what happens? Nothing. A chair falls over, maybe. Big whoop." She smirked as she grabbed some pretzels and pulled her feet up on the couch, her legs curled under her off to the side. "Then again, if it means staying home from school for a day or two, bring it on."

Arnold couldn't help noticing the way she was sitting and gulped a little. He had to think of something else to talk about. Thankfully Helga had taken the remote and was scanning the channels to find something more interesting, which bought him some time.

"So what was that thing with Curly about anyway?"

"Huh...?"

"The other day, at school. Curly was at our table acting all weird. What was he going on about?"

"Well, it-"

"Hey Arnold, have you seen my boots?" Ernie interrupted as he walked into the living room wearing a full set of winter clothes, minus boots of course. Arnold cringed as he couldn't help noticing one of Ernie's toes sticking out from a hole in his sock.

"Um... No, Ernie. I have not seen your boots..."

Ernie grumbled as he walked off, "I bet Hyunh decided to _borrow_ them again...dang boots...always taking my boots without asking..."

Helga blinked as he walked away. "Does that always happen?"

"Constantly," Arnold groaned. "Anyway, as I was saying... It turns out Curly is Rhonda's mystery artist," Arnold said with a little sigh.

"I mean, duh," Helga said sardonically. "Of course he is. I could have told you that. She still hasn't figured it out, has she?"

Arnold shrugged. "I guess Nadine was supposed to talk to her. He told her to just take credit, but Nadine never got back to him, so... I don't know. I'm not really sure what he wants me to do."

Helga pondered the situation for a moment. She thought back to the day when she quite nervously sat waiting on a park bench to give Arnold a special gift as well, only for it to be ruined when Pink Boy came crashing down directly onto it. But that was beside the point. The irony was not lost on her that Curly was in a similar predicament, only he hadn't the courage to take credit. He was even willing to let someone else take it. "Hey..."

"Hm?"

"I know Curly's pretty much insane, and he can be a real pig sometimes, but... Is it crazy to think, like... Maybe he actually does secretly love Rhonda? The way I secretly loved you all those years?"

Arnold tilted his head, having never given it that much thought. "I don't know... Maybe?"

Helga nodded slowly, looking down at the floor for a moment. "I think... I'll take this one."

"Huh? Take what?" Arnold asked curiously.

"You know, this... This thing, whatever, that thing where you help the people. You know, what you do all the freaking time. I think I can do this one," Helga said as she looked up at him with a sense of purpose in her eyes. "If Curly's going through the same thing I did, then I should be the one to help him."

Arnold smiled. "That's really nice of you, Helga."

Helga rolled her eyes. "Don't make it weird." She tried to play it off like it was no big deal, that she was slightly annoyed, but her smile betrayed her, and she knew it. "Thanks..." She then leaned in toward him and curled up against his side, hugging his arm as she laid her head against his shoulder. "You're really proud of me, aren't you, my love?"

Arnold did his best to hide how tense he'd just gotten, and he nodded. "Yeah, I'm proud of you..." He gulped quietly as his heartbeat quickened, and he feared the worst. Desperate to stop it, he quickly pulled away, stood up, and ran down the hall.

"Uhhh, what the heck?"

"Be right back!" he yelled back to her. Helga simply scratched her head and sat up normally again, casually stroking one of her braided pigtails as she wondered what could possibly have gotten into him.

"Was he eating raspberries before I got here...?" she wondered out loud, looking around the couch and the coffee table for any sign of the offending fruit, but there was nothing. She slouched a bit in her seat and crossed her arms as she waited for him. Why was he acting so weird? Wasn't he happy to be back together?

Helga's thoughts were interrupted when Mr. Hyunh tip-toed down the stairs carrying a pair of old, black winter boots, and he held a finger to his lips. Helga stared at the strange man and nodded as he walked away, thankful that she didn't have to put up with weirdness like that on a daily basis at her place.

A few minutes passed and Arnold came back with cold damp hair, and he shivered as he sat back down beside her.

"Uhhh, heeey... What's with you, anyway? Why is your hair wet?" Noticing Arnold's shivering, Helga reached over and gently touched his cheek with the back of her hand. "Criminy, Arnold, you're freezing!" Helga quickly grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped it around him.

"I, uh, I t-took a quick sh-shower. A c-cold shower, that is..." Arnold shrugged. "I just n-needed to...relax..."

Helga stared at him curiously and asked, "Arnold, are you nervous about being around me again?"

Arnold swallowed hard and looked up at her. He knew it was only a matter of time before she figured it out. Well, at least some of it. He hoped she didn't catch on to just how bad it was. "K-Kind of... But n-not in a bad w-way..."

Helga's face turned a little red at first, but she couldn't help but smile. "Are you freaking kidding me, Arnold?"

"...Huh?"

Helga sighed and wrapped her arms around him, holding the blanket around him as she pulled him close to her. "You really like me, don't you?" At that, Arnold simply nodded, prompting Helga to hug him even tighter. "God, I missed you. Even if you are a freaking weirdo..."

Arnold slowly smiled as something dawned on him: no matter what happened, she would stay by his side and support him. With that realization, he closed his eyes and rested his head against her. "I missed you too..."

Helga laid her head against his. "No more freaking out and taking cold showers in February, okay? You'll freaking kill yourself doing that."

"You got that right. I can't believe I did that," Arnold chuckled.

"I can't believe you put the same clothes back on," Helga said with an eye roll.

Arnold glanced down at himself for a moment before closing his eyes again. "Yeah, I guess I did..."

"Dork." Helga reached up to run her fingers through his damp hair, coming any loose strands away from his face. "I love you, Arnold."

"I love you too, Helga..."

Helga picked up the TV remote and started looking through channels once more, settling on a marathon of old true crime shows. As Arnold lay still against her in her arms, intrigued by the old detective on screen as he shared the details of a perplexing case, Helga carefully grabbed her phone and sent a quick text to Phoebe.

 _Helga:_ Pheebs omg he really likes me

 _Phoebe:_ I know he does, Helga. I'm really happy for you guys!

 _Helga:_ Noooo I mean he really likes me like how guys like girls, like he actually thinks I'm pretty and he gets nervous around me like he did with Ruth and Lila, maybe even MORE

 _Phoebe:_ I'm not surprised! You should give yourself more credit, Helga. I always thought you were one of the prettier girls in our class.

 _Helga:_ Yeah yeah yeah I don't know about that but seriously WOW though its still crazy

 _Helga:_ I'll call you later ok?

 _Phoebe:_ Okay, Helga. Have fun!

Helga put her phone away and wrapped her arm back around him. With one hand she rubbed his shoulder to keep him warm, and with the other she held his hand. They stayed like that for a short while, even after Arnold was nice and warm and dry.

All the while, the snow kept falling down outside the windows of the Sunset Arms. The snowflakes themselves seemed to shiver as they twirled their way down against the wind, which whistled loudly like the whispers of ghosts. All of Hillwood was currently haunted by the tiny, shivering ghosts of winter, but this was merely an omen of things to come.

* * *

"So then he rushes out of the room, and he comes back with his hair all wet, and the guy is just shivering like crazy!" Helga said into her phone as she walked through the darkened Emporium, having just gotten a little late night snack from the kitchen. Of course, it wasn't _really_ darkened. There were of course candles everywhere. "Ugh..."

"What is it?"

"Nothing, just all my mom's candles. She always leaves them lit when she goes to bed." As Helga made the trek back to her room, she blew out every candle she passed. "That can't be safe, can it?"

"If they are simply jar candles, then the risk isn't actually very high, but nonetheless I wouldn't leave them lit," Phoebe said quietly.

"Right? So dumb," Helga grumbled as she reached her room and crawled into bed before eagerly tearing open a bag of cheddar-flavored popcorn and opening a bottle of Yahoo-brand root beer.

"Which reminds me, you were in the midst of telling me Arnold's hair was wet, and that he was shivering. His head didn't catch fire, did it?" Phoebe giggled, amused by her own joke.

"Yeah right, maybe on the inside," Helga said with a smirk. "Seriously, I can't believe he actually thinks I'm that pretty. Boy needs his eyes checked."

Phoebe 's laughter faded, and while she meant to address that last sentence, she paused for a moment as the dots began to connect in her mind. "Helga... Did Arnold take a _cold_ shower? Is that why he was, you know...shivering?"

"Heh, you're damn right he did! What kind of dunderhead takes a cold shower in early February!? I get he was nervous, but sheesh!"

"Helga," Phoebe said gravely. "I think... I think he was more than nervous..."

Helga took a swig of her root beer before responding, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Helga... Think about it. Remember Health Class? He took a _cold shower_..."

"...I honestly don't know what you're getting at, Pheebs, but WAIT A SEC, DO YOU MEAN... _OH FU-_ "

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for the kind words, everybody! I'm glad you enjoyed that really messy little story arc! I'd been planning on it for a while, so it was nice to see it well received now that it's come to a close. Which isn't to say there aren't still loose threads to be dealt with...**

 **Anyway, I've been fighting a nasty cold for a little over a week, and for almost a month I was kind of a prisoner in my own home. That's all done now, thank goodness, but unfortunately I've been slowed down a little. Still, do not worry! I'm not falling into another slump like before! I just might be a teeny bit late on the next chapter, that's all. In the meantime, please let me know what you think of this one!**


	39. Touching

**Hearts of Gold**

39\. Touching

"Oh my god. _Oh my GOD,_ Phoebe what the hell am I gonna do!?" Helga said into her phone as she paced around her room. "Is he going to be like this all the time now!? This is too much pressure. I don't know what to do. I'm going crazy!"

Helga was almost hyperventilating, she was so nervous. Phoebe knew she had to help her before she got too hysterical. "Helga, please. Just stop pacing, and focus on slowing your breathing."

"Nooo, Phoebe this is too serious! He can't be getting...like _that_ now, it's way too soon! He's too freaking young for this! Hell, _I'm_ too young for this!"

Phoebe was caught between the urge to correct her about the unfortunate timing of such bodily functions and the need to calm her down. "Helga..."

"What!?" Helga yelled, holding the phone in front of her face with both hands.

"You need to try and relax, okay? Please? You're getting very upset, and on top of that, I know you don't want to upset your parents with the noise. It's all going to be okay. We'll figure this out, alright?"

Helga bit her lip. If only she wasn't so full of noise right now, she might be able to put a lid on it more easily. Still, if her parents came in now, in the midst of all this, she knew she'd probably snap, and it would all be downhill from there. Keeping that in mind, Helga took a deep breath to at least try to calm herself down. "Listen, Phoebe... I have no idea what the hell I'm going to do about this. What if he gets all weird and wants to...you know..."

"Wants to what, Helga?"

Helga gulped, tightly wrapping an arm around herself to try and stifle her shivers. "What if he wants to...do things? As in, get all touchy and feely and stuff? Literally, I mean." There was a long pause on the other line, to the point that Helga began to wonder if Phoebe was still there. "Phoebe...?"

"...Helga, do _you_ want to do things?"

"I...I don't know...God, I'm such a basket case. We _can't_ do anything like that, we're not even freaking teenagers yet, so..."

"I didn't ask if you could, Helga. I know we're all pretty young to actually act on these urges. What I asked was, have you ever felt that way for him before?"

Helga thought long and hard. It wasn't as if such colorful thoughts had never crossed her mind before. She'd seen enough R-rated movies to have some idea what goes on behind closed doors, and to say she'd never imagined them getting all hot and bothered would be a lie. Usually, however, these thoughts seemed to be some wistful, far away thing, one of those "when we're grown up" concepts that simply came along with any such relationship at some point.

Of course, there was a difference between the abstract, romanticized imaginings of a future relationship as adults and an immediate desire to indulge in one's primal instincts here and now, but this was not something Helga could easily discern. She knew that she'd described her girlhood trembling in several old poems, and she mentally kicked herself for forgetting about them before giving all her poetry to Arnold for Christmas.

And that was when she remembered one little pink book in particular, one Arnold had gotten his hands on ages ago, and which Helga had gone to serious lengths to get it back.

Including spending the night in his closet.

"Oh, shit..."

"What is it, Helga?"

"Oh, shit, nooo no no no... Phoebe, I..."

Phoebe sighed. "Tell me, Helga."

"I saw it."

"You saw what?"

"Phoebe. I saw _it_."

It didn't take long for Phoebe to gasp on the other end, and Helga winced and closed her eyes tightly. "My goodness, Helga!"

"I knoooooow! I honestly forgot!" Helga smacked herself in the forehead at that.

"How could you forget something like that!?" Phoebe said in disbelief.

"I don't know, I just did, okay!?"

Phoebe paused for a moment as something dawned on her. "So, you _have_ felt this way before, haven't you?"

In lieu of a reply, Helga opted to dive onto her bed, shove her face into a pillow, and scream at the top of her lungs.

"Oh, wow..." Phoebe took her glasses off and rubbed her eyes, shaking her head as she tried to think of something, anything that could help Helga regain some sense of composure. "Helga? Can you still hear me?"

"Nnnnhmmmmm," she mumbled into the pillow. "Whnt mm nh ghnn dnnn?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Criminy," Helga sighed as she rolled onto her back. "I said, what am I gonna do? What if he wants to try something with me? I don't know how I'll react to that. What if I'm not ready?"

Phoebe gave it a little thought, and then gave her the most honest advice she could. "Then tell him, Helga. Tell him how you feel."

"That's a great idea, Phoebe! And maybe I'll just chop my own foot off too! Just give me one second to find that darn hacksaw I keep around!"

"I'm serious, Helga. If he really does love you, he'll understand. Besides, how do you know he's ready to 'try something' with you anyway? For all you know he's just as freaked out as you are. Maybe he's even _more_ freaked out. That would explain the cold shower."

"...I didn't think of that. But, I guess it does make sense..."

"He probably did that because it freaked him out and he didn't want you to notice."

Helga began to twirl her hair around her finger as she tried to imagine her poor beloved, panicking about something he had no control over, desperate to avoid embarrassment. Suddenly she began to relate, in a way. "That sounds legit... I don't know, I guess I just need to wing it, and try not to panic myself. Maybe I'll just avoid it for now..." Helga stared up the ceiling and tilted her head as a thought occurred to her. "Hey, Pheebs..."

"Yes, Helga?"

"Have _you_ ever felt that way towards Gerald? Or has he ever felt that way toward you, that you know about anyway?"

Phoebe swallowed hard and took her glasses off, gently biting on the temple before responding, "I... I am presently unaware of any instances of Gerald having any such physical reaction toward me... However, I... I, um..." In that moment, Phoebe was quite thankful that Helga couldn't see how red her face was over the phone.

"So _you have_... Did you do anything about it?"

"What!? No! Of course not, I...ahem... I have not acted on this... _impulse_ in any way."

"But you have felt it...?"

"Yes," Phoebe sighed with defeat. "I have. He's just so...cute..."

Helga chuckled quietly, letting out a sigh of relief. "Honestly, I'm just glad I'm not alone, here... Thanks, Phoebe. I'm still a little lost, maybe a little bit scared, but this really did help."

"You're not alone, Helga. You can count on me. And believe it or not, you know you can count on Arnold with this stuff, too. He's probably just as lost, and as scared, as you are right now. But you're both smart, and you love each other. I'm sure it'll be okay. I just... I can't believe you saw his-"

"Stoooooop," Helga groaned with embarrassment, wiping her face with her hand as if trying to wipe away her intense blush.

"Sorry, Helga... Don't worry, okay? Everything is going to be fine, you'll see."

"I guess... Thanks for being here for me. You can count on me too, by the way... Anyway, I should probably go now. It's getting late. Night, Pheebs."

"Okay. Goodnight, Helga. See you tomorrow."

Helga hung up the phone and set it on her nightstand, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly as she stared up at her ceiling. "Why must things always get so complicated?" she wondered aloud.

She got up from her bed and pulled out her full-body wall mirror, putting it up against the wall before standing in front of it. She started to look herself over, tracing the shape of herself in her mind. Where her pajamas were loose, she gave a little tug to pull the fabric more tightly against her skin, but this began to annoy her. She glanced at her bedroom door and scowled a little, frustrated that she couldn't lock it.

After waiting a few moments so she could be sure that no one was going to come barging in, she carefully removed her pajamas and stood before the mirror in her underwear. She grimaced at first, feeling rather awkward. Was she really so remarkable, she asked herself? She turned to look at herself in profile for a moment, reaching up to press her hands against her chest, pushing inwardly as if she was trying to measure how much she had grown. She already knew she'd been growing, but nonetheless she was left with several questions she couldn't begin to answer. Was she going to keep growing? What if she didn't? What would Arnold think of her, either way? She knew girls' chests always seemed to get stares, something which always annoyed her before, but what if Arnold happened to cast his gaze that way? Would she feel differently? Also, what else did boys like, anyway? Should she worry about anything else, she wondered?

She knew how older boys looked at older girls, but she didn't know how long she'd have to prepare herself before Arnold looked at her that way too. Would he want to see her without her clothes on? Would he even wish to touch her? The thought that Arnold might even think such thoughts about her body at all made her shiver, and she hugged herself tightly. Oh lord, what if she actually wanted him to? What would she say if he asked her?

Helga cringed and swiftly shook her head, as if she was trying to shake all these thoughts out of her mind. "This is all so stupid," she grumbled. She and Arnold were too freaking young. Criminy, none of this should be on her mind, or on his mind either for that matter. With that thought, she decided not to worry about it any longer, at least for now. Quickly she put her pajamas back on and turned the mirror around so it faced the wall. She then crawled into bed, pulled all her blankets over her, and curled up tightly in a sort of fetal position.

She picked up her phone and opened up her text app. She stared at a blank draft, considering sending Arnold some kind of message. Her first instinct was to simply remind him that she loved him and that they could take on anything, now that they were together again. Soon, however, she felt tempted to ask him some very serious questions about him, and about how he saw her. She even considered directly asking him about what happened.

She closed out the text app with a sigh, but as she went to turn off her screen, she accidentally turned on her camera. Sure enough, it opened to her front-facing camera, and she raised a brow as a thought came to her.

"...Nah, no way," she whispered as she turned her screen off and left the phone on her nightstand to charge. She then rolled onto her other side, turning her back on the device, and in no time she drifted into a deep, peaceful sleep.

* * *

Arnold and Helga walked to homeroom together hand in hand, but beneath their harmonious exterior a sense of awkwardness lingered. Arnold was nervous that any kind of physical intimacy between them, no matter how innocent, would trigger an embarrassing hormonal reaction that wasn't easily hidden. Meanwhile Helga's mind kept going in circles with every glance and every touch, questioning his motivations as well as her own.

"So, um... Have you given any thought to what you're going to say to Curly and Rhonda today?" Arnold asked as he sat in his desk. Helga was caught off guard as she sat down too, her mind previously preoccupied with some rather wicked thoughts about him.

"Huh...? Oh, yeah, I... I think I'll just play it by ear. I'll probably talk to Rhonda first, I think. Find out how she feels about Curly, so I know what to say when I talk to him." Helga was relieved to have something else occupy her mind for a change. It almost amused her how much easier this task felt than dealing with matters of intimacy and affection with her beloved. "If I'm right about him, then I've been in his shoes, more or less. So it shouldn't be too hard."

"I hope so. I know I told you this before, but I'm proud of you." Arnold smiled at her and reached over toward her shoulder, but he paused, suddenly second-guessing himself.

Helga gulped a little. "It's okay," she whispered, glancing down at his hand for just a moment. She felt her heart skip a beat as he closed the gap between them, and stroked her shoulder with his thumb for good measure. "Also, I um... Thank you... I like that I make you, uh...you know, proud."

Arnold smiled and nodded, but he couldn't hide how tense he felt now either. "You're welcome..." He was almost relieved when Mr. Frank walked in to begin class for the day, and he severed their brief, though no less electrifying connection to face the front of the classroom. A hush fell over the room as everyone noticed Mr. Frank arrived pushing a cart into the room with a TV on it.

"Alright, alright, everybody settle down now," he told the surprisingly quiet classroom as he plugged the TV into an outlet. "Now, I'm gonna be honest with you kids. Late last night I made the mistake of eating clams. Correction, I made the mistake of eating _too many_ clams. Way, way, _waaay_ too many clams. Which you should never eat under any circumstances. So, that means that my classroom will mostly be a series of videos today. You'll still have your regular study hall, and lunch, and whatever it is you kids do for recess when the weather's like this, and uh...gym. Regular gym." Before he could continue, Sid stood up at his desk and raised his hand. "Yes, Sid?"

"Are we all gonna die?" asked a typically paranoid Sid.

"Of course not, you'll live forever and ever," Mr. Frank deadpanned.

"I think he means that mighty big storm blowing in next week," Stinky chimed in.

"I'm well aware, Mr. Peterson," Mr. Frank said before sipping his morning coffee. "Anyway, this first video is actually about how weather works. We're not supposed to cover it for a couple units but... I figured, what the heck, it's relevant. Park? Do me a favor and hit the lights for me, please? And uh, never turn them back on for the rest of the day."

Park, being closest to the light switch, stood up and cast the room into darkness as Mr. Frank got the boring weather documentary going. The mostly lifeless teacher leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on his desk, and it was then that Helga realized she might be able to get a head start on this little operation of hers.

She looked back and spotted an empty desk right next to Rhonda, and glanced over at Arnold. "Hey," she whispered.

"Yes, Helga?" Arnold asked quietly.

"Watch my stuff for me. I'm gonna sneak to the back and talk to ol' Rhondaloid now."

Arnold nodded, then Helga quietly stood up from her seat, crept her way back to the empty desk, and pulled the chair away from it to sit closer to Rhonda.

"Helga? What are you doing?" Rhonda said quietly. She sounded rather deflated, uninterested in anything going on. Helga wondered if she'd been sleeping well, though there were no signs of circles under her eyes.

"Well, hello to you too. I just wanted to, you know...check up on things. You hear from your mystery man yet?"

Rhonda sighed and crossed her arms, slouching in her seat as she shook her head. "No, I haven't. Honestly, Helga, I'm ready to just give up. Valentine's Day is this weekend, and if he wanted to show himself, he would have by now."

Helga swallowed hard as it dawned on her just how close the romantic holiday was. In years past it was her least favorite holiday of all, but that was based entirely on the fact that she had always spent it alone. This would be her very first Valentine's Day with Arnold by her side. She knew she'd have to get creative, and she only had less than a week to come up with something.

"Helga?"

"Huh?" Helga snapped out of it with a double-take. "Oh, right. Um... That sucks. This might sound freaking nuts and all, but I was rooting for ya."

"Thanks, Helga," Rhonda said with a shrug, turning her eyes to the TV screen at the front of the classroom. Of course, her view was obstructed by the heads of several classmates, but she didn't really care. The only thing happening was some boring old guy narrating over a boring old cartoon about pressure systems and vapor and crap that didn't matter to her.

Helga twiddled her thumbs and stared down at the floor as she tried to think of something to say. She knew that Arnold, somehow, always seemed to know what advice to give, or what questions to ask to get to the root of a problem. This was a skill Helga did not possess, or so she thought. "How the heck is this so easy for him?" she whispered.

"Hm?" Rhonda glanced over at her then, having heard her whispering.

"Nothing. Uh...pfffff... Has Curly been bothering you?" Helga blurted out.

"Curly?" Rhonda sat up straight at that, turning to face her directly. Why on earth would Helga mention him? "No, not lately. It's actually kind of weird. Do you think he might be up to something?"

"No, I just... I was just wondering, like... What do you really think of Curly anyway? I mean, you don't actually _hate_ him, do you? At least someone gives you attention, even if he is weird about it." Helga gulped, crossing her fingers behind her back and hoping she wasn't completely screwing this up. She screamed at herself in her mind to stop talking about that little freak before she blew his cover.

Rhonda sighed. "I mean... I guess I don't _hate_ him, he's just... He has zero respect for my personal space. He's always hugging me, trying to kiss me, and sometimes he _does_ kiss me, and it's like...gross. Like, I'm not just some _thing_ he can put his hands all over whenever he wants. It's tremendously twisted, and demeaning."

Helga nodded slowly, and for a moment she forgot her mission. "Do you ever think about, like... Pretty soon it won't just be Curly. All the boys are gonna want to be all weird and touch us and hug us and kiss us. It's crazy, right?"

"Totally!" Rhonda agreed. "It's so weird. I've gotten plenty of creepy looks as it is from some of the boys, and that's not even counting Curly and how weird he gets sometimes... But I don't know. I guess if it was the right boy, at the right time. Not until we were older... I don't know. I don't know..."

Helga took a deep breath. "So, let's just say hypothetically, IF, and I mean IF Arnold ever wanted to, like...make out a little more...crazy-like, do you think I should let him?"

Rhonda's eyes widened, and immediately Helga regretted asking. "Helga G. Pataki, are you saying Arnold is... _you know_...for you!?" Rhonda asked just a little too loudly for Helga's comfort.

"Pipe down!" Helga panicked, looking around the room with eyes wide with terror. Thankfully everyone else was too engrossed in the weather documentary. Or perhaps they were just too bored by it to notice any of their surroundings. "It's just a 'what if' thing, that's all! Criminy, the last thing we need is for a bunch of dumb gossip about us spreading around the whole damn school. We _just_ got over a ton of drama as it is."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. God..." Rhonda rolled her eyes and shook her head, collecting herself before continuing. Quietly. "Okay, IF Arnold ever wanted to do anything weird with you, it doesn't really matter because it's really up to you."

"What do you mean? Why's it always up to me?"

"Because it's _your_ body. You had no problem telling him not to touch you before when he wanted to hold your hand, right? Why is this any different?"

Helga shrugged and looked away for a moment. "I don't know... I know that really hurt his feelings before, when I wouldn't hold his hand. I don't want to risk hurting him again..."

"Big deal, if he can't help himself from being gross, that's his problem. I'd expect Arnold to know better anyway, to tell you the truth."

Helga nodded slowly, wrapping her arms around herself. "What if..."

"What if what?" Rhonda asked with a tilt of her head. Helga didn't have to say anything else, however, as the sudden redness of her face said it all. "Oh my gosh, Helga..." Rhonda shook her head and hid her face in her hands for a moment. "Isn't there someone else you can talk to about this? Go talk to Phoebe, she's your best friend."

"I did talk to Phoebe, it's just... I actually came to talk about something else. I just got distracted is all..." Helga needed to change the subject. Fast. Quickly, and without thinking, she quickly blabbed out, "What if it was Curly? Your mystery guy, I mean."

Rhonda raised an eyebrow. Again, she had to mention Curly. Now she knew something was up, and Helga regretted her bluntness immediately. "I don't know, Helga... I guess that would mean I've misjudged him. But it wouldn't make it any less weird, the way he treats me. Honestly if he was thinking of me like Arnold thinks of you – hypothetically, that is – it would be even weirder. If he expected _anything_ from me, he'd have to stop doing that stuff. No more tackling me, no more kissing me, no more gross stuff. I mean... Did you know he blackmailed me once, Helga?"

Helga tilted her head, a little surprised by that nugget of info. "Really? He actually blackmailed you? When was this?"

Rhonda scowled at the memory. "Remember when he and I 'dated' a couple years ago? Didn't last long. Then I broke up with him, and everyone hated me, so we got back together and then he broke up with me?"

"Actually, I forgot all about that, but now that you mention it..."

"Yeah, that whole thing was just Curly being weird. He blackmailed me into being his fake girlfriend. Can you believe that? Who does that?"

Helga turned to look through the sea of heads to find Curly at the other side of the room. Even from where she sat, she could tell he was miserable. "Rhonda... Did you ever think, like... Okay, this is crazy, but hear me out: maybe he just doesn't know what he's doing. Maybe he really does like you, or even love you, but he doesn't know how to show it."

"What makes you say that?" Rhonda asked in a softer tone.

Helga swallowed hard and reached up to put a hand on her chest, feeling the locket beneath her shirt. She realized in that moment that whatever her beloved was going through, it wasn't his fault, nor was it hers. "It was just a thought... All I'm saying is, I think that would be a really lonely way to live. Don't you?" With that, Helga stood up and carefully walked back to her seat, making sure not to trip over anything or anyone.

Rhonda took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She had a feeling she knew what all of this might mean, but she couldn't be sure of it yet. She now found herself staring not at the TV at the front of class, but at the black-haired, bespectacled creep who always chased her around like some demented cartoon skunk, desperate for her affection.

Could it be true? Could Curly, of all people, be her mysterious romantic artist? Could it be that underneath all the grabbing and the hugging and the kissing, he actually did have genuine feelings for her of some kind?

As Rhonda pondered this possibility, Helga decided she wasn't going to stop being affectionate just because of some stupid hormones. With that in mind, she moved her chair closer to Arnold and surprised him with a warm embrace, hugging him tightly and kissing his cheek. Of course some of the other kids noticed, and started to whisper, but she didn't care.

"What was that for?" Arnold asked with a curious, if slightly nervous smile.

Helga whispered, "I'm just really happy I'm not alone anymore."

* * *

 **A/N:** **Hello, readers. Unfortunately I've been really sick the past couple weeks, and while I've gotten better, I'm still not at my best. On top of that, a close friend passed away a few days ago, so I have that to deal with as well. I can't win, I guess. I'm not letting it stop me from writing, but it is slowing me down a little bit. Just hang in there! I'm not giving up Hearts, and I'm not giving up on you guys! Some CRAZY stuff is coming up soon, hehehe...**


	40. Feeling

**Hearts of Gold**

40\. Feeling

"You had a WHAT!?"

"Keep your voice down!" Arnold whispered harshly, eyes darting around the cafeteria to make sure no one heard him. "I don't want anyone else to know about this!"

Gerald slumped in his chair, wide-eyed, shaking his head. He simply couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Arnold? Getting one of _those_? "I always knew you were a bold kid, Arnold, but I didn't think you were _that_ bold..."

"It's not like it was on purpose, Gerald," Arnold sighed. "What should I do? I don't know when it's going to happen again. What if someone sees? What if _Helga_ sees?"

Gerald knew he had a point, and stroked his chin in thought. He'd already had _the talk_ with his dad, which was pretty embarrassing as it is, but for all the talking and talking he had to suffer through, he couldn't think of a thing to say. What would he do in such a situation, he wondered? Would he have to worry about that soon as well? "I don't know, man. Maybe you just need a distraction," he said just as much for himself as for Arnold. Gerald then shifted in his seat, sitting up to start eating the grilled cheese sandwich on his tray. "How about Valentine's Day?" he asked with a mouthful.

"Valentine's Day?" Arnold had to admit, he hadn't been thinking of it very much. "I mean, I had some ideas for a date. It depends on the weather, I guess." Arnold recalled how windy it was over the last couple nights or so, how he could hear it whistling outside his room. "I want to give her something handmade, I think. I'm just not sure what, yet."

Gerald shrugged. "Well, Jamie-O told me girls love getting sweets on Valentine's Day. I bet Helga would _especially_ dig it."

A grin slowly came over his face. "That could work..."

"Just don't get any help from Timberly."

Arnold rolled his eyes and laughed at the bittersweet memory. "You can say that again."

"Say what again?" Helga asked as she appeared at the table, sitting close to her beloved. Arnold gulped a little and smiled nervously as he waved goodbye to Gerald's distraction in his mind.

"Nothing important..." Arnold glanced over at Gerald, and the look in his eyes told him he needed to try harder. Quickly he decided to get Helga talking instead. "How did it go with Rhonda?"

Helga bit her lip. "Sooo, I may have outed Curly as the artist."

"You mean of Rhonda's Christmas present?" Gerald asked curiously. "I guess that makes sense. Kind of." Gerald scratched his head as he tried to figure out when Curly became such an artist.

"What did she say?" Arnold asked curiously, all the while keeping his legs closed together tightly, as if he had to pee and was desperate to hold it in.

"Well, I think Curly's dreaming if he expects Rhonda to jump into his arms. She hates how he's treated her over the years, the way he would always try to hug her and kiss her and so on. Can't say I blame her, honestly, but I really think underneath his creepy little act, he has real feelings," Helga said with a little sigh as she pulled a turkey sandwich out of her bag and took a huge bite out of it.

"You sure about that?" Gerald said with a raised brow. "That Curly sure is one freaky guy. Remember the fire alarm thing?"

"Or the ball monitor thing," Arnold added.

"And let's not forget Shark Week last year," Gerald said with a shiver. Arnold winced at the mere mention of it.

"Please, let's not talk about Shark Week..."

Helga rolled her eyes. "Okay, so he's a freaking lunatic. That doesn't mean that's all there is to him. A year ago you guys just thought of me as a straight-up bully, nothing else. Maaaybe _you_ thought there was something else inside, Arnold, but still. You've gotten to know me more, and you know that was just...just... The point is, I think his feelings for Rhonda are real."

"Whose feelings? Curly?" Phoebe asked as she sat down with her tray. "I don't know, Helga..."

Helga smacked herself in the forehead. How many times would she have to explain this? "C'mon, Pheebs. You of all people should know that you can't judge a book by its cover. You were the only friend I had for most of my life; everyone else thought I was just evil and nasty and that was it. But you knew better."

Phoebe had to admit, she was right. Though it wasn't as if Helga was judged completely unfairly, given how she rarely ever allowed anyone else to see her more sensitive side, she did know that Helga wasn't always given a chance to be anything else either. Could Curly be putting on a similar front, she wondered? "I suppose you're right, Helga. Having given it some thought, it's not unreasonable to think that Curly may be in a similar predicament."

"Thank you!" Helga said as she spread her arms out wide. "At last, someone here believes me!"

"I believe you, Helga," Arnold said with his usual bright, optimistic smile.

Helga sighed with relief. "Thanks, my love," Helga replied by leaning over to give him a one-arm hug from the side. She thought she saw Arnold's eye twitch a little, and maybe even felt him squirm a bit, and she had to admit part of her kind of liked that she found a fun new way to torture him. But she was feeling merciful, so she pulled away to turn around and scan the cafeteria.

Curly sat alone, of course. Rhonda shared a table with some other girls, but she seemed to be keeping to herself for the most part. "Alright, listen. I'm gonna go talk to Curly, but I need someone to distract Rhonda so she doesn't notice me sitting at his table. Any volunteers?"

Phoebe didn't wait and stood up from her chair. "I can do it," she said with an affirmative nod.

"Hell yeah, let's do this!" Helga said with a fist pump as she stood up as well. "Okay, I'll stop by the vending machine and buy a soda while you go sit with Rhonda and start chatting. Once I know you have her attention, I'll just wander on over to Curly's table and take care of business. Got it?"

"Got it," Phoebe said before immediately walking off to Rhonda's table to ask for fashion tips, not that she really minded how she dressed of course. Meanwhile Helga made her way to the vending machines at the same time, and once she was a safe distance away, Arnold let out a sigh of relief.

"Were you holding your breath, man?" Gerald snickered.

"No, I uh... I wasn't." He was.

"You looked like you were holding in a fart or something," Gerald continued as he started to crack up. Arnold wasn't quite so amused.

"Sure, Gerald. Whatever you say. I was holding in a fart or something."

* * *

Curly picked at a bag of Chex Mix, separating the rye chips from everything else so he could throw them away. He wasn't really sure why they were included. Still, he rather liked the rest. He loved to take the mini breadsticks and make them walk along the table, even dance if he felt like it. Today he didn't feel like it, however.

He wasn't blind. He saw Helga leave her desk and chat with Rhonda in the back earlier that day. It seemed to him that Arnold, just like Nadine, was too good to help him, so he had his girlfriend do it. That Arnold and Helga got back together at all only left him extra bitter. He couldn't help feeling frustrated that those two were actually working out while he still was no closer to the girl of his dreams showing him anything other than a cold shoulder. How did that make any sense? Helga was always mean to Arnold, and he didn't seem to like her very much either. Curly scowled. At least he was a passionate love master, ready to give his all for the one woman who made his heart soar.

Sure enough, Helga came waltzing over to his table, and he let out a big, long sigh. "Greetings, dear Helga. How may I help you on this wonderful romantic Monday?" Curly said bitterly.

Helga did not expect such a rude welcome, and her mood began to sour. "Oh, you do _not_ want to start off with _that_ kind of attitude, bucko. I came over here to help your sorry butt, so don't make me regret it."

Curly huffed and crossed his arms. "Save it, Pataki. The ol' tough gal routine doesn't intimidate me. Besides, haven't you heard? There is nohelping me. Rhonda hates my stinking guts."

His "tough gal" comment only helped Helga realize that this was probably a front, just like she used to put on all the time, and her voice softened. "She doesn't hate you, Curly."

Curly rolled his eyes, and his head too. "Oh puh-lease, you expect me to believe that? I know the score! My heart is doomed, _doomed!_ Forever shall my soul be but an empty vessel, sailing an ocean of misery in an endless night of despair! O gasp, I say, gasp! Look upon this melancholy wretch and behold the very personification of-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it. Trust me, I get it. Been there. Also, kind of impressed with that. You should write poetry." Helga cracked open a can of ginger ale and took a sip before continuing, "ANYWAY, as a matter of fact I do expect you to believe that. She doesn't hate you, she's just angry about how weird you always get with her. And she probably doesn't appreciate all your psycho freak-outs either."

Curly winced. "Is she still mad about Shark Week?"

Helga's eyes narrowed. "Curly, _everyone_ is still mad about Shark Week. And a little bit traumatized."

"The sharks are the real victims, Helga," Curly deadpanned.

Helga shuddered at the memory, and tried to steer the conversation back on track not just to accomplish what she set out to do, but to avoid thinking about those seven days of terror. "What I mean is, you have _got_ to stop touching her without her permission. The hugging, the grabbing, the kissing, it's gotta stop."

"You're one to talk," Curly seethed through a wicked grin. "You and Arnold are all over each other. At least, you were. Arnold's looking a little _stiff_ today. Wonder what's bugging him?"

Helga scowled at that and grabbed him by the shirt collar, pulling him closer to get right in his face. "Listen here, you bug-eyed little freak, I don't know who told you about that, but if you say one word to anyone, I will break off the temples of your glasses and shove them up your-"

"Relaaax, darling, relaaaaax. 'Twas just a joke!" Curly said with a giggle. "Also? It was just a lucky guess. But thanks for the confirmation."

Helga growled as she released him. "See, this shit right here? This is a big part of it too. You can't seriously expect Rhonda to even _like you_ when you act like this all the time, like some mustache-twirling psycho jerk. She told me about the time you blackmailed her. Criminy, are you for real? How could you do that to her? The point is, you need to take her feelings a little more seriously. Aside from that stuff, all the touchy, kissy stuff you do to her, it's just nasty. It really does hurt her, Curly."

Curly threw his arms up in the air. "What else am I supposed to do!? It works for everyone else! You and Arnold do it all the time, Stinky and Lila do it, even Harold and Patty do it and I never would have pegged Harold for the kind of guy who would _ever_ give a girl some lovin' like that."

"We're already in relationships, Curly! We earned each other's trust, and respect. Not to mention, we do still have boundaries. We're kids, we can't do _everything_. You can't just jump right into being all hands-on like that, it's insane! It's insane, and it will never, ever work."

Curly slouched in his seat and lowered his head. How could he have screwed things up so badly? "I've never done this before, Helga."

Helga sighed, shaking her head as she looked upon the pitiful boy. She saw so much of herself in him just now, and found herself rethinking just how much she's misjudged him over the years. "Curly, when Rhonda tells you to stop, you need to stop. She's not trying to hurt you, she's trying to defend herself."

"I thought she was playing hard to get," he said with a shrug.

"No, Curly. You have got to take her feelings seriously." Helga inched her chair a little closer to him now, leaning toward him to speak softly. "Listen, I understand what this is like. I've been in your shoes before, okay? I wasn't mean to Arnold because I disliked him. I've loved him as long as I can remember. I just didn't know how to show it. I was too scared, and I didn't know what I was doing either. If you really do have actual feelings for her, I really think you should tell her."

Curly simply nodded, taking his glasses off briefly to wipe his eyes with his arm. "Does she know about the art I gave her? That it was from me?"

Helga swallowed hard. "Yeah, I think she does now."

Curly bit his lip and nodded once more. "Okay," he said very quietly before getting up from his table and, leaving his lunch behind, walked out of the cafeteria. Helga turned in her chair to watch him go, knowing all too well the pain he was feeling.

Little did she know that Rhonda had also seen him walk out, and though she tried to play it off like just a momentary pause in her conversation with Phoebe, all she could think about now was Curly. He had done this to himself, she thought. The years of harassment were always going to catch up with him eventually. He should have known better. She shouldn't feel bad for him.

And yet she wondered, why did she?

* * *

Arnold shivered and rubbed his shoulders as he sat by the bus window, watching the falling snow swirl and fly around outside. For a moment he thought that might be what music looked like. He squinted to look closely at the snowflakes that landed against the glass, trying to see the points and the unique patterns of each one.

Helga sat beside him with a little sigh, shoving her bag under her seat. She slouched and crossed her arms before laying her head on his shoulder. "Hey..."

"Hey," Arnold said as he turned to look down at her. He could tell she was still feeling a little down, but her sadness only confirmed what he'd always known. She had such a big and caring heart, and he loved her for it. She glanced up at him with those big, beautiful blue eyes of hers, catching his staring. For a moment, her expression shifted to one of quiet concern.

"Are you okay?" Helga asked, hoping that she hadn't somehow triggered any of those new feelings he'd been dealing with. She didn't know what she'd do if such minimal, harmless contact could excite him like that.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Arnold said with a little half smile. Though he hesitated at first, he nonetheless put his arm around her shoulders and hugged her closer. "You still feeling a little low?"

Helga nodded and reached up to touch his gloved hand as the bus finally took off, now that it was full and ready to go. "I feel like I did a lame job. I mean, I might have gotten Rhonda to think about some things, but I don't know. And Curly? Everything I said only made him feel worse. I guess I'm just not cut out for the charity work like you are..."

"Hey, that's not true," Arnold said as he rubbed her shoulder. "Based on what you told me, it sounds like Rhonda might think a little more about looking at people a little deeper than what's on the outside. That's a good thing, right?"

Helga shrugged. "I guess..."

"And okay, so Curly is depressed. Neither of us want that, but... You did the right thing, trying to talk to him. And if, at the very least, he stops being so weird with Rhonda, then that's a good thing too, isn't it?"

There was a long pause before Helga spoke up again. "I just wish... I don't know, Arnold, I don't like seeing someone so lonely. I was hoping maybe I could convince them to be, like...at least friends, just so he wasn't so alone, but I failed. Now he feels completely abandoned, like he's going to be alone forever, and that..." Helga winced as if the thought physically pained her.

"Helga...?"

Helga took a deep breath and then sat up straight, closed her eyes, and shook her head and her arms to try and loosen up."I don't want to talk about it. Okay?"

Arnold nodded. "Alright, Helga. We don't have to talk about it." He sighed and turned to look back out the window for a moment, pulling his arm from around her shoulders so he could hold her hand instead. "I can't wait for all this snow to go away."

"Yeah. It's not as much fun as it used to be. Plus all the wind..."

"Yeah..." Arnold fidgeted a little as he watched the town go by outside. That's when a thought came to mind. "Hey, um... Are you going home, or like...?"

"Huh? Oh, crap. Uh...pffffff... I kind of want to go with you for a little while, if that's okay."

Arnold thought for a moment. It was a school night, so she wouldn't be able to stay too long. Still, with her current state of mind, he knew she needed affection right now. The problem was, he didn't know just how much snuggling she'd want to do, and being so hyper aware of every touch, well...

"I mean, if it's not okay, I can just go home..."

"No! No, it's okay with me. It's always okay with me. I just hope your parents don't mind, that's all." Arnold gave her hand a gentle squeeze of reassurance, all the while mentally preparing himself for later.

"I don't care what my parents say," she snarled. "I'll just get a ride home from Olga when she's done work today. Remind me to text her when we get to your house."

"Whatever you say, Helga." Arnold gulped as he began to dread the rest of the afternoon.

* * *

Miles and Stella walked into the boarding house with several bags of food, setting them down in the foyer so they could shake and brush the snow off of themselves. Stella made sure Miles didn't really mind getting the rest from the car, then took off her coat and her hat and her boots.

From there she brought some of the bags straight to the kitchen, and started putting things away. Vincent looked up from the table after taking a sip of hot cocoa and stood from his chair. "Hello, Stella. Do you need a hand with anything?"

"Hi, Vincent," Stella said with a little smile. She was clearly exhausted, but it didn't slow her down. "If you wouldn't mind, could you get the other bags, by the front door? Just the food stuff. Miles and I will figure out what to do with the rest in a few minutes."

"Alright, then," Vincent said as he left to get the other bags of food. He could hear Phil and Mr. Hyunh chattering about the latest weather report in the living room as he took a moment to check out what Miles and Stella brought home. He noticed a lot of canned food, bread, bottled water, etc; clearly food supplies for the upcoming storm. There were also a couple bags with what looked like flashlights, batteries, power strips, even candles.

Things he'd never had to rely on before.

"Hey, Vincent," Miles said as he came in with the remaining bags. Vincent stood up, the grocery bags in hand now, and nodded.

"Hello, Miles. I was just helping with these bags, if that's alright," Vincent said quietly, as he usually did.

"Of course," Miles responded with a pat on the shoulder before taking his coat and his boots off. "How are things going, anyway?" he asked as he and Vincent carried their bags to the kitchen.

"Fine, I suppose," Vincent gulped. He knew what Miles was getting at, but he hoped to avoid the conversation. They set the bags down on the counter and Vincent took his seat at the table once more, taking a sip of his hot cocoa with a little sigh of relief.

"Just fine?" Miles asked with a tilt of his head.

"Well..." Vincent took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "The job hunt hasn't been going as well as I'd like..." The truth, which he was too embarrassed to admit, was that he simply didn't have any faith in himself. Every ad he saw in the paper, every sign he saw in a window as he walked around town, he had convinced himself would be a mistake. He simply knew that no matter what he did, he would be a failure.

"Why's that?" Stella asked as she sat down with him to take a break, leaving Miles to worry about stocking the pantry.

"I just, I don't think I'm-..." Vincent stopped, hearing the front door open. Stella turned her head to listen, and after hearing boots and coats get put away, Arnold and Helga walked into the kitchen.

"Hi, Mom, Dad. Hi, Vincent," Arnold said with a little smile.

"Hey, guys," Helga added. She was surprised to see the bird guy sitting at the table downstairs. Usually he was always in his room when she came by.

"Hey, kids. Did your parents give you the okay to come over, Helga?" Stella asked with a raised brow.

"Uh, yeah. Yes, they did," she lied nervously. Arnold gave her a little nudge and she added, "My sister's picking me up on the way home from work."

"Alright then," Stella said with a shrug before looking back at Vincent. "You were saying?"

Vincent gulped. He honestly hoped the subject was dropped. "I'm just not sure I'm really qualified for anything that would make decent money," he said with a shrug. "It's not that I don't want to pay you guys, or have my own spending money, it's just that I... I don't do well with other people, I guess. Losing that job at the Avon theater just has me very discouraged..." He cringed as he recalled the night he was fired just a few weeks ago. He hadn't been working there for very long, but on top of his tendency to forget theater numbers, he accidentally started showing a rather terrifying ghost movie to an audience of children expecting a family-friendly animated film.

"We understand, Vincent. It's just... With the Kokoshkas gone, we can't really afford to cut so much slack now that you're a third of the boarders here," Miles said as he finished up with the pantry. "We know the economy isn't great, and it can be tough out there, but there's got to be something. I mean, we'd be willing to make a deal with you, make it a percentage of whatever your income is. That'd be fair, right babe?"

Stella nodded reluctantly, staring at Miles for a moment as she spoke. "Yes, I...suppose that would be okay. I've actually been thinking about getting a job as a professor down at Bennington College."

Meanwhile, Arnold and Helga quietly raided the fridge for drinks and snacks. They glanced at each other with a shrug as everyone else had this rather serious discussion around them. Helga stole a quick look at Vincent and recognized his discomfort, so she took Arnold's hand and guided him out of the kitchen, bringing him upstairs to his room. He only wished the living room was still free.

"I thought it was Wellington," Miles said quietly to himself. "That would be a long commute, honey. Are you sure you can handle that?"

Stella rolled her eyes. "Please. It's not that far away. Besides, I think I've had enough exploring and adventuring, and I didn't get a PhD in biochemistry just to sit on it. I figured I might as well teach."

"Why not teach at the high school? Or Arnold's school for that matter?" Miles asked as he leaned against the counter.

"Are you kidding? I'm probably _overqualified_ for that. Bennington would be just right for me, I think. Unless you know of any pharmaceutical companies here in Hillwood that are looking for a medicinal chemist?" Stella added with a smirk.

"You? Work for big pharma? Well, I'll be dipped in chocolate and rolled in sprinkles."

Stella stuck her tongue out at him before looking back at Vincent. "There has to be something you can do. You're great with birds, right? How about a pet store?"

Vincent narrowed his eyes in thought at that. He hadn't really considered something like that. Taking care of his birds was just something he did because he enjoyed it. It hadn't occurred to him that he could exploit his unique talents for money like that. "I'm not sure... Those places, they never know how to treat their birds. Especially the more exotic ones."

"Then it sounds like they need your help," Miles said with a wink and a smile.

Vincent's eyes widened a little at the simple realization, and slowly a smile began to form on his face as well. "I suppose you...may be right, Miles. You may be right."

Miles pat him on the shoulder as he and Stella walked out to take care of the other supplies, while Vincent contemplated their advice. He stared into his hot cocoa and wondered, could this be the fresh start he'd been hoping for? It was one thing to have some new clothes, a nice warm bed, and a real roof to sleep under.

To earn a real living, putting the only skills he had to good use, was another thing entirely.

* * *

Helga leaned back and crossed one leg over the other as she read one of Arnold's She-Ninja funny books. Or _graphic novels_ as he would insist. "I gotta say, she is pretty badass," Helga said with a little smirk, sitting beside Arnold on his comfy red couch. She hadn't realized just how violent the book was, the various ninja battle scenes featuring bright red blood spraying everywhere as shurikens flew into faces, as claws sunk into ribs, and as swords sent the heads of her enemies rolling to the ground. "And to think, I always thought ninjas were for dorks," Helga chuckled.

"Gee, thanks Helga," Arnold said with an eye roll. "I just like the story, and the action. And the artwork is really good, too."

"Uh-huh," Helga said quietly as she turned the page. One particularly large panel showed the titular character nearly in her entirety, standing over a fallen rival. She noticed just how perfectly rendered the character was, her blood-soaked wardrobe clinging impossibly tight against her form. She tilted her head as she glanced at the assassin's rather ample breasts, her slim waist, and the way her hips curved right into long, slender legs. Using the book to hide, Helga quickly tugged at her neckline and looked down at herself, then back at the book.

Was this the kind of thing Arnold was into, she wondered? She knew she couldn't live up to those standards now, of course, but would she ever be able to compete with this?

"Helga?"

Helga jumped and, as a result of her panicked spasm, she dropped the hardcover book right on her face. "Ow," she grumbled as she sat up, setting the book down on the little table in front of the couch and rubbing her forehead. "Next time I get lost in a book or something, just go ahead and punch me right in the temple, would ya? Criminy..."

"Sorry," Arnold said with a gulp. He bit his lip for a moment, his knee anxiously bouncing up and down, and then leaned over to kiss her forehead.

Immediately Helga's grimace faded, and a bashful half smile took its place. "Thanks. Sorry I yelled at you..."

Arnold breathed a sigh of relief, happy to get away with that. "It's okay."

"So," Helga said before pausing to take a sip of Yahoo brand cream soda, "What was that all about downstairs? Has Vincent been living here rent free?"

Arnold rolled his eyes at that. "Yeah, I guess. My parents got him a job at the Avon, but he showed the new _Paranormal Haunting_ to a bunch of little kids instead of _Bunny Hop 2_. By mistake, I mean. So he got fired."

"Man... That's gotta suck. The guy's life must be real miserable. No job, no place to go but here, and that's just because he's friends with the fam. He's lucky to have you guys," Helga said as she got up to turn on Arnold's stereo. At first she cranked the volume just a little too loud, but then she adjusted it to a more respectable level.

"Yeah, he's had a hard life. We're trying to help, it's just that he doesn't have much faith in himself." Arnold smiled at Helga as she sat back down beside him, ever thankful to see such light in her eyes. "That's why he has us. So he can see just how great he really is."

"Yeah," Helga sighed with a wistful smile. She inched a little closer and gently took Arnold's hand, and immediately he tensed up. She was sitting so close now that as she held his hand between them, the back of his hand was just barely touching her leg. He glanced down at their hands for a moment, taking note of the length of her dress, and then looked back up at her.

He didn't expect to see her looking so sad all of a sudden. "Helga? Are you okay...?"

"I don't know," she said quietly. "I'm still thinking about earlier today. Rhonda and Curly... I wish I could have helped them the way you guys are helping Vincent. Especially Curly. I just know that he's hurt, and he's lost, and he's so freaking lonely. I just..." Helga closed her eyes as she trailed off.

"You did what you could, Helga. If I had tried to help them, it probably would have turned out the same way. Besides, maybe they're just...not meant to be together like we are."

Helga furrowed her brow at that. No, that didn't feel right at all. The romantic in her couldn't help it. "I don't know, Arnold. What if they are? What if they are, and I blew it? I mean... I know this sounds crazy but I actually see a lot of myself in there. In Curly I mean. That loneliness, and that passion, it's no wonder he's insane."

"You have to have hope, Helga. We don't really know how all this will work out," he said with a reassuring squeeze. This prompted Helga to open her eyes and look directly at him now.

"That's just it, Arnold. I think Curly lost all hope today. It was like looking at a freaking mirror..." Helga reached over to stroke his cheek with the other hand as she leaned a little closer to him now, staring deeply into those bright, beautiful green eyes of his. With that, his heart beat a little faster. "No matter what happened with you and me, I always had hope, deep down. If I ever lost that... If I ever felt like we weren't meant to be, and that was it... Arnold, I don't know what I would do... I'd...I..."

Suddenly Helga lunged at him, shoving him down to his back and lying on top of him. She kissed him as deeply as she knew how, even making soft moaning sounds as she ran her fingers through his hair. Arnold stared out in horror, holding his arms in the air like he expected the police to walk in at any moment.

As Helga's kiss didn't break, however, he started to go limp, finding that he simply couldn't not enjoy it while it lasted. He slowly wrapped his arms around her, without hugging her any closer, and did his best to kiss her back.

Then he felt her tongue against his lips, and in that moment, Arnold was sure he knew what it must feel like to be struck by lightning.

Quickly he turned his head away, and his arms went up once more, and he semi-yelled, "Getoffpleasepleasegetoffgetoffgetoffgetoffpleasegetoffpleeeeeasegetoff!"

That jumbled mess of a request was enough to shock Helga back to reality, and she practically jumped off of him, still breathless from kissing him so much.

Arnold jumped up from the couch and started toward the door, but Helga called out, "Arnold wait!"

He stopped dead in his tracks, not turning around. His heart sank as he looked past the half-open door to the hallway at the bottom of the stairs, feeling guilty as he was reminded why he had to adopt the open door policy in the first place.

"Arnold," Helga said in a soft, soothing voice. "Arnold, I'm sorry..."

Arnold gulped and glanced down, then threw his head back and sighed.

"Arnold...?"

"I can't, Helga... I.. I can't, I'm not supposed to...to..."

"It's okay, Arnold. I know..."

Arnold closed his eyes tightly as if he'd just stared at the sun too long. "You know...?"

"Yes, I know about your...situation..."

"Oh god, don't call it a situation," Arnold groaned.

"Well darn it, you know what I mean. Arnold, it's okay..."

"...You have no idea how embarrassing this is..."

"Really, Arnold, it's alright. We don't have to, like...make out or whatever, just come sit with me, and it'll be alright. I promise."

Arnold's shoulders slumped, and his head hung low, and he walked backwards all the way back to the couch, immediately curling up into a ball as he sat back down. He hugged his knees close and hid his face in them while Helga got up and grabbed an extra blanket from his closet.

She sat close to him once more, and Arnold reluctantly put his legs down long enough for her to toss the blanket over both their laps before resuming the position. Slowly she wrapped her arms around him and held him close, rubbing his shoulders as she closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Arnold. I just... I don't know, I..."

"It's okay, Helga..." He took in a long, deep breath and let it out as slowly as he could. "How did you know about...you know?"

Helga shrugged. "I figured it out last night. I was wondering why you took that cold shower." She tilted her head a little. "Is that why you were acting so weird at the movies, too?"

Arnold remained silent, keeping his eyes closed as his face turned a shade redder than it already was.

"Oh, Arnold, " Helga sighed. She held him there for a couple minutes until the tension started to leave him. She kissed his temple before saying, "Listen, my love... I know it's, like...weird as hell, okay? We're both growing up, and it's crazy. Not just for you, either. It's crazy for me too. So... We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but I don't want you to feel like you're alone, or like you have to hide things from me. I promise I won't freak out, or tease you, or anything like that. Okay?"

Arnold finally opened his eyes and nodded. "Okay..."

"Promise you'll do the same for me?"

Arnold swallowed hard and turned to look into those angelic pools of blue he loved so much. "I promise."

Helga nodded. "Good. And one more thing... Are you okay with, like... Do you mind taking things a little slow?"

For reasons he couldn't quite understand, a gentle smirk grew on Arnold's face. "What are you talking about? _You_ jumped _me,_ remember?"

Helga rolled her eyes and chuckled at his little remark. "I know, I know... But seriously, I'm kind of losing my mind a little over here, wondering if you're..."

"If I'm what?"

"If you're...into me. Or not."

Arnold nodded slowly and took a moment to think about his answer. Was he ready to admit, out loud, that he'd been having such feelings? It wasn't like Helga didn't already know, given the evidence they'd just discussed, but it was still a big deal. And so, he decided he had to be honest. "I, um... Of... Of course I am, Helga. If you mean what I think you mean. Not like I can hide it now, anyway..."

Helga's smile grew until it was ear to ear, and she blushed as well. "Thank you..." She then cleared her throat and tried to play it off cool, though the redness of her face gave her away. "So, uh, yeah... Take it slow?"

Arnold nodded. "Sure thing."

Helga let out a sigh of relief. "Good... And hey..."

"Hm?"

Helga leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I love you, Arnold..."

Arnold smiled, now finally feeling totally relaxed, and he leaned over to kiss her cheek in return. "I love you too, Helga."

They sat snuggled up together under the blanked for a few more minutes before going back downstairs to see if the living room was still occupied. With Arnold's grandpa and Mr. Hyunh having found other things to do, Arnold and Helga flipped through the channels until they found one playing a marathon of old classic cartoon shorts, and they laughed away the rest of the afternoon until Olga arrived to take Helga home.

Dinner came and went for both of them, and that night as they lay in bed, neither of them could stop thinking of that one intense moment of bliss they shared on the couch. While they both enjoyed the memory, one thought kept nagging at them even as they drifted off to sleep:

What if they hadn't stopped so quickly?

* * *

 **A/N: First of all, thank you all so much for the kind words. I'm really grateful that you care like that. Second of all, I hope the wait wasn't too long! this was a fun one to write. What's next, you may ask? Valentine's Day is coming up, and then...THE STORM. I've been planning it for ages, and I'm pretty fired up to finally get to it. Hehehe...**


End file.
